For four years in the making, senior, Dorothy Lane built a distinguished reputation as a co-captain for the debate team. After advancing to quarterfinals in poetry interpretation at the Barkley Forum at Emory University, she earned the most coveted award in the world of speech and debate last month. “I wasn’t expecting it,” remarked Lane, “It didn’t really sink in until I got back.”
Titled “Never Trust a Mirror,’ Lane wrote an interpretation of four poems, which according to debate coach, Beth Eskin, are all woven under the theme of body images, forming a powerful statement about the beauty of the human form’s diversity. “In the nature of the event I don’t write anything instead for my introduction, which is me explaining what the piece is about.” She began her interpretations with:
“Body image is defined as a subjected image of one’s own body, and 92 percent of women are unhappy of theirs’. The problem isn’t just for women; it extends far past that to men and even children…”
This performance from Lane deservedly earned the Emory Key, which has uniquely never been broken at quarterfinals until now. As for it being her graduating year, is it a shame to say that Lane’s success’ has never been featured before, and notably, this is not the farthest that she has gone in speech and debate. Lane’s past achievements include being a semi-finalist at the George Mason’s debate and in dramatic interpretation at the Liberty Bell, and reaching to quarterfinals at George Mason’s.
The Emory is a prestigious tournament. Lane was required, before the event, to go through an application basis. Lane felt excited and shocked when her name was called out last from the list of individuals who were accepted in quarterfinals, just when she and her team were walking out of the auditorium; “I was in the fourth room and the last person called, so as we were walking out, they called my name. And I was like ‘Oh what!? Am I supposed to go?’ I didn’t realize that I had broken the Emory. It was a very good round [and an] incredible competition.”
The school year is not yet over, and Lane still something up her sleeve in speech and debate. “There are a lot of opportunities to do well in debate; this one was just unique because we haven’t gotten an Emory Key in four or five years.”