Representatives Quartuccio (OBU), Gibbs (OSU), and McCumber (OU) throwing the “horns down” hand sign.
Emily King (OU)
November 13, 2021
The legislative branches of the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature don’t always agree on issues. The House thinks that the Senate can be boring while the Senate calls the House “too loud.” Delegations have long existing rivalries with one another, and delegates hold differing beliefs than their peers. One thing that O.I.L. can agree on though? A deep hatred for the state of Texas.
Yesterday, the O.I.L. Senate discussed OSU-201 by Senator Keck, a resolution that declares casus belli, A.K.A., war on Texas. The resolution was well-supported by fellow senators and was passed on to the House of Representatives earlier this afternoon.
Like their peers in the Senate, many House delegates were strongly in favor of OSU-201. One such delegate, Representative Cowley (OU) stated:
“I’m very passionate about declaring war on Texas because I have never liked Texas. My whole life, people from Texas seemed to have an attitude that they are better than people from anywhere else, and that they can do anything they want because they’re from Texas. But I don’t appreciate that. I think Oklahomans are humble and kind and hardworking. Yes, we have a lot of problems to fix in this state, but we are better, and Texas should be destroyed by Oklahoma. That’s why I support [this resolution].”
However, while a strong majority of delegates feel the same way as Representative Cowley, there were a few dissenters. I spoke with Representative McDaniel (ORU), who told me:
“I think that one state declaring war on another is a dubious practice…I think that the federal government would not be here for [a war]. Also, I think that the possibility of other states joining in, could lead to the utter collapse of the Union. As citizens of the United States we’re not acting very ‘united’ these days. I think any motion to deliberately [separate that unity] seems ill-advised.”
Still, strong dislike for Texas won out in the end. OSU-201, having passed both chambers, now awaits approval by Governor Barnett. Overall, sentiments beating in the hearts of members of the House and the Senate can be summarized in one statement made by Representative Landry (OU):
“The river runs red for a reason. Now, it will run red with the blood of murdered Texans.”