History will remember many great moments: the invention of the iPod, the rise and fall of dial-up internet, and the time I confidently walked out of the Beaver Store with something I absolutely did not need.
History, they say, is bound to repeat itself if we fail to learn from it. And yet, no matter how many times I swear I have learned my lesson, I always leave the Beaver Store with a bag in my hand and mild panic setting in the moment I look at the receipt.
Many students walk in with the idea that they are there “just to browse.” Inevitably, browsing turns into picking up a displayed crewneck or football jersey and saying, “Wait… I need this.” Before you know it, you are walking out with both items, holding a receipt that loudly announces just how much self-control you have, or do not have.
If you have ever found yourself unable to avoid impulse-buying something new, do not worry: you are not alone. The Beaver Store has earned a reputation for turning casual browsing into full-blown spending sprees.
Dylann Justice, a second year accounting major at Oregon State University, admitted she is no stranger to impulse spending at the Beaver Store. When asked if she has ever bought something impulsively, she paused before replying, “Once.”
Whether admitted through a moment of embarrassment or offered as an honest truth, most students can recall at least one time they purchased something they did not need inside the orange-and-black vault we call the Beaver Store.
Somehow, no matter how many times we swear it will not happen again, the decision not to grab “just one more thing” dissolves the moment we step inside. But why? How does the Beaver Store win nearly every battle between a student and a hoodie?
The answer is not simply weak self-control or poor budgeting. It runs deeper than that.
For many students, faculty, and alumni, wearing clothing with a giant beaver on it is about showing pride in where they belong.
Derek Abbey, a 1999 Oregon State graduate, said his Beaver merchandise represents more than school spirit.
“For me, coming to Oregon State as a first-generation college student, just making it into college was really important,” Abbey said. “Wearing Oregon State merch represented that.”
When asked how wearing OSU merchandise feels now compared to when he was a student, Abbey said the feeling has not changed.
“I still take a lot of pride in it.” He said.
Abbey added that there are countless reasons current students should feel proud to attend Oregon State, from academics to athletics and everything in between.
So go ahead. Buy the hat, the sticker, and the obnoxiously orange hoodie. Years from now, that purchase will feel a lot better than the moment you stared at the receipt and questioned every financial decision you have ever made.
