by Alyssa Sperrazza
The 2016 spring session of Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature (OIL) is coming to a close. With a new Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore, the next group of leaders are stepping up. And while emotions will be high at the closing joint session with farewell speeches, the future of OIL is looking a little brighter.
The elections this session have caused problems and we as an organization have damage control to do. With how the issue was resolved though, gave me hope about next session. Fingers crossed that delegates learned valuable lessons.
Mistakes were made this session, no one is doubting that. And no matter what side of an issue a person took, who a person voted for or what opinions were taken as facts, the most important thing ended up being the determining factor in it all: the zero stars that are to come. Zero stars will come next fall and be welcomed into the OIL family, because that’s what we are; a dysfunctional, crazy, soap-opera-worthy family. And sometimes family hurt each other, but at the end of the day, we still love one another.
Last session, I was a zero star and I looked forward to coming this session. OIL is an incredible experience, one I’d recommend to any student who has a passion to make Oklahoma and the world a better place. People our age have gotten a bad reputation, being called “selfish” all too often. I’m reminded though, seeing OIL delegates work as hard as they do, how incredibly wrong those people are. Ghandi called for people to be the change they want to see in the world. At OIL, I have the incredible opportunity to meet that exact change. I’m reminded, sitting amongst these world-changers, the hope that the future has.