Two political science students are working to start an Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature (OIL) club on campus.
Lyndsey Speer, political science/philosophy/economics sophomore, and Lucas Freeman, political science/history junior, have discussed starting the mock legislature group that replicates all three branches of the state government in Oklahoma. The last time the university had the group was in 2011, and it ended due to lack of leadership, said Dr. Richard Johnson, political science professor. Speer said the group allows students to witness the legislative process firsthand.
“Students from all over the state can write mock bills they want to see passed and take it to the capitol to see how bills become laws,” Speer said. “You go there with your bill, you present it to your committee, and you debate it. If it passes to the committee, it will go through the chamber. If that passes, it goes to the governor. It is exactly how real government works.”
Speer was involved in Oklahoma Youth and Government, a similar program, in high school. She was a representative at the Conference on National Affairs, the Oklahoma Youth Speaker of the House and the Oklahoma Youth Governor.
Freeman worked for U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn’s (D-Oklahoma) campaign when he found out about the program.
“She and her campaign manager met doing their time at Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature, and it seemed like a really great thing for political science students,” he said.
Speer said the best part of this program is to see young people bring in topics and make changes. In the past, students have brought in issues such as the legalization of marijuana and gay marriage.
“Even though it is a mock program, it has actually inspired real life legislature,” she said. “There was one student who brought his proposal to the conference. He was so passionate about it, and he made it through all the rounds. He proposed for all interstate highways to have divided medians, because his own family was killed on an interstate highway in a head-on collision. It was so impactful, that there were actual legislatures who made a bill out of it, and it is a law now.”
Students must register to be a part of the program, but Speer said they did not have enough students to create a delegation this year. She is aiming for the program to happen next year.
“Anyone who is interested is able to do it, but it was so last minute that we couldn’t pull it off,” she said. “It is a really great extracurricular. It is not on campus, but maybe next year if we have enough people, we can have on-campus meetings to go over details.”
Freeman said the program is beneficial for connecting students with like-minded people.
“People should join because of connection,” Freeman said. “Like I said with Kendra, she met her political operatives through OIL, and it’s just a really good way to connect with people with similar interests.”
Abigail Banks, political science/philosophy/economics freshman, said she was interested because it can help students understand how the government works. Banks was a page at the Oklahoma State Capitol when she was told about the program.
“I was immediately interested because I had done similar things in high school,” Banks said. “I think that, in a sense, we don’t understand what goes into passing a bill, and this helps students understand. There have been bills that have been passed because of this program, and I believe the ability to make that impact is awesome.”
For more information, students may email Speer at ldspeer@my.okcu.edu or Freeman at lsfreeman@my.okcu.edu.
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