Anna Pope (OSU)
April 15, 2021.
Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature (O.I.L.) spring session will continue to be virtual, and school-weary delegates are ready to hit the ground running.
Every semester O.I.L. delegates from across Oklahoma attend session at the Oklahoma State Capitol for five days to not only learn about how our state government operates, but also to build lasting connections with other members. While vaccines are becoming widely available, allowing people to see an end in sight to the COVID-19 Pandemic, it is still prevalent.
This will not be many delegate’s first online session but this semester outside school stressors is seeming to be more evident than ever. Delegates are feeling the weight of school commitments like the last round of tests or projects before finals and are ready to focus on session to get their minds off school.
In addition to being a member of the House of Representatives, Rep. Audrey Fleschute of Oklahoma State University (OSU) will also be chairing this semester’s Freshman Bill. Fleschute said her semester has been rough and is feeling burnt out of school but is ready to start her second session.
“I want to die,” Fleschute said. “Although this session, I will be chairing the Freshman Bill and I am really excited to chair for the first time.”
Delegates not only look forward to participating in the competition, but also to reconnecting with other members from different universities. The virtual format may hinder connection between people but for members like Rep. Abbi Lesnick meeting people is half of the fun at session.
This will be Lesnick’s second session and is eager to reconnect with the other participants she met in the caucusing and committee last session. However, she is also ready to meet new members as well.
Like many other O.I.L. delegates, Lesnick and Fleschute fully experienced O.I.L. ‘s first virtual session last semester, but some students were not able to attend. Rep. Kallie Quintero of OSU said she was diagnosed with COVID-19 and completely missed out on the last session.
“I’m excited to actually attend the session and not be running 105-degree fever,” Quintero said.