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ORU dominates
OIL
By Angela Hibbs
Year after year, ORU
ranks at the top in the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature (OIL)
convention, having taken top delegation honors in four of the last
five competitions.
Sixteen different schools from Oklahoma convene at the capitol and
participate in a mock legislature session. The competition takes
place every fall and spring. Students spend hours preparing their
minds and speaking abilities in order to be the ones who come out
on top.
The trip lasts four to five days and takes place in the Senate and
House chambers where actual congressmen and women meet to discuss
and pass bills. Each person writes a bill and presents it, said
junior Jonathan Fleming, a student who has participated in OIL.
Because more bills are presented than can be discussed and voted
on in the House and the Senate, only the really well-done ones receive
attention. "The school is prepared for these challenges because
ORU has a great government department, and Professor Sonny Branham
encourages us all the way," said Christina Valdez, a government
major who has participated in OIL many times.
Fleming said that many of the participants from other schools often
take advantage of the time away from their daily routine for an
excuse to party. ORU students stand out at this statewide convention
because "we don't go there and get drunk all the time. Three hundred
college students in motels, with parties; we are more responsible.
We end up doing better in the long run."
"At ORU, we strive for a greatness found beyond ourselves and our
natural abilities. We strive and we become the people of character
and integrity we are called to be," Valdez said.
Valdez also pointed out that ORU is the school that opens and closes
each session in prayer.
"We influence others by our standards. It is because of these standards
that we do as well as we do. OIL is a great learning experience
for all who go. It's not just for government majors; it's for everyone
interested in politics, and that should be everyone," Valdez said.
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