By Journalist Alondra Perez (OU)
This is the first session that the House is using the Senate Assembly Room as Chief Clerk. Typically House chambers are in a long room with 101 seats, and loud microphones allowing for caucusing to be far from the dias. This session, the room the OIL House is using as its chambers is the Senate Assembly Room. The Senate Assembly Room is very wide and pushes half of the competitors off to the side. Chief Clerk Schonfield reports, “I think that the house chambers are more conducive to more effective caucusing and as a chief clerk it makes it more difficult to hear everything that is going on”. Schonfield also notes that not being up on the dias is an unexpected obstacle is not having the dais. There is a certain sense of disorganization being on the same level as the body for individuals on House leadership. Regardless, Schonfield believes, “It’s still session so the experience is still good. It doesn’t matter where it is, I will be in the same room with people having similar discussions”.
Assistant floor leader Hutchens (OU) said, “Due to the parameters of the room, and how small the house was, on privilege needed to be called more times than usual because the room is a lot smaller than the House is used to”. Through their observation, Hutchens did leave a positive remark upon the room per her position, “specifically as assistant floor leader I found myself having to approach the speaker and speaker bro a lot of questions, and I did find them being on an equal level made my job easier”.
Representatives in the Senate Assembly Room think the environment makes it hard to take the Dias seriously,“It feels like rules are being bent because of the information of the environment” Representative Jones ORU. Having everyone on the same elevation changes the dynamic on the floor that is palpable” said Jones (ORU).