By Journalist Amaya Brooks (OBU).
Evan Shaw, a 1L at Tulsa University Law School, is entering his 13th star session as Pres Pro of the Senate. During the Opening Joint Session of the 2nd session of the 54th Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature session, Pres Pro Shaw gave his acceptance speech for his nomination for Governor of OIL.
Shaw was first introduced to OIL through his older sister, who was a Senator for the OBU delegation. When hearing about her experiences at OIL, he knew that it was something that he wanted to do. When exploring the activities offered at TU, he sought out the TU Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature delegation immediately. “It was weird, my zero star session we were still trying to get chambers back. I still had midterms, so my first day of my zero star session was Saturday morning. I was three days late, I didn’t know what to do. I was so excited to be there and I was raising my hand trying to make motions. I absolutely loved it and I was so excited to come back.”
One of the most amazing parts of being at session is, because of the long days and the tough nights of schoolwork and preparation, the bonds you create with fellow senators and representatives alike are strong and they continue beyond the five days of session. “All the connections and friendships I made.. I only met and talked to this guy for two days during session and a week later he called me and said ‘I’m running for state chair for the College Republicans. Would you like to be state secretary and run on my ticket?’ He said ‘I saw how you voted on things and I knew that’s something I need in my administration.’”
This is only one example of the many connections that Shaw made in his time in the Senate. “The reason I stayed involved was because of the type of environment that OIL has. Not only the type of change that it can create in the state, but the real types of connections you make with real people.”
“The people that I met in OIL feel like family and it’s not something I’ve experienced in any other organization. I only see these people ten days a year and they feel like family.”
Aside from the deep connection and commitment that Shaw has to the OIL body and organization, he has big plans for the change he would like to bring to OIL to improve its potential to change lives, the longevity and quality of the organization, and the individual growth that the organization can promote as a whole. “I ran for Pres Pro at the end of my time in undergrad because I felt like I could finally give back.” OIL consists of two legislative bodies, the Senate and the House, as well as a Press Crops and a Moot Court Competition. OIL’s Moot Curt competition is a really unique opportunity for undergraduate students to compete in. One of the things Shaw would like to bring to this competition is to continue to expand the court to give competitors the best and most realistic competitive experience possible. The Press competition also is a unique opportunity for OIL members interested in pursuing journalism, especially political and legislative journalism, to be able to interact with legislators and legislation. Shaw’s desire for the growth of the Press and Moot competition is to make them more accessible to those interested in the competitions, especially to those who may not have anyone in their delegation who has competed in them. Additionally, he would like to see these competitions advertised to students who are uniquely interested and passionate about moot and press, instead of it sometimes just being an addition to legislator’s interests.
His advice to zero stars was full of so much wisdom. “Number one, you’re just starting out. Something that is critical is for you to start speaking up now. You’re not going to get everything right, and that’s just part of the process.” He said that everyone has to learn somehow! There is so much grace among those with higher star count and among those in leadership the first few days, so speak up! His second piece of advice is to find someone with a high star count or stay with your freshman liaison. They can give you so much advice and wisdom to learn from. “Go and caucus, talk to everybody. Especially the people you disagree with! You will never learn so much as going to that person and asking why are you voting the way you are. We are all voting to make the state better, we just all have different ideas of what that looks like. Talking to people you disagree with humanizes the issues and the people you disagree with.”
Pres Pro Shaw has such great hopes for the future of OIL and we will see how the Governor race treats him tomorrow.
Uncut Interviews:
Pres Pro Shaw