January 22, 2001
Debating group's anniversary
highlighted by annual awards
By Eric Rangus erangus@emory.edu
Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes will receive the Barkley Forums 2000 Speaker
of the Year Award at the debate institutes annual awards banquet,
Feb. 1 in Cox Hall. Barnes will join an impressive list of recipients that includes President
Jimmy Carter, former U.N. Ambassador and civil rights leader Andrew Young,
Sen. Zell Miller, late Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Lewis
Grizzard and CNN founder Ted Turner. President Bill Chace received the
award last year, and Barnes is the 34th honoree since the award was introduced
in 1967. Shannon Feldman, operations manager of the Barkley Forum, said Barnes
was selected for the 2000 award because of his ongoing speeches on education
in Georgia, as well as his education policies. He represents the embodiment of effective speech, Feldman
said. The award to Barnes will cap an evening that will also feature a
wide array of presentations including the Pelham Urban Debate League Award
for contributions to UDL; the Benjamin Pius Award, named for an Emory
debate student killed while in school; the Warren Akin Outstanding Alumni
Contributions Award; Friends of Forensics honorees and the induction of
honorary and associate members. But there are other things to celebrate besides Barnes appearance.
We had a phenomenal year last year, Feldman said. For instance, Jon Paul Lupo and Mike Horowitz won the 2000 national debate
tournament last year as seniors. The pair, both of whom graduated lost
May, will be honored as well. Lupo and Horowitz made up one of three Emory debate teams to compete
at the NDT, and all were ranked in the top three going into the final
round (Larry Heftman and Jeff McNabb were seeded first, Lupo and Horowitz
second, and Stephen Bailey and Kamal Ghali third). That was the first
time any university had put together such a strong contingent. It was a record-breaking year, Feldman said. Ghali, now a senior, took over from Lupo as Barkley Forum president.
He will preside over this years ceremony. He and Bailey, also a
senior, made it to the NDL semifinals in 2000. They were matched up against
Lupo and Horowitz for a berth in the finals but ceded their placeas
is debate customto the more senior team. Emory has sent a team to
the NDL finals four of the last five years. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the Barkley Forum taking
its name. Debate at Emory is actually much older, dating back to Emory
College. In 1950, Emory student Robert Flournoy, now a superior court judge in
Cobb County, wrote then-Vice President Alben Barkley asking him for permission
to name the Emory Debate Forum after him. A signed letter from Barkley, an Emory alumnus, granting permission for
the use of his name hangs on the forums wall. Flournoy is one of several Emory debating alumni, whose attendance at
the University predates the modern Barkley Forum, to be inducted into
The Foundationthe forums honor circle of students who debated
all four years at Emory. Their pictures, along with other Foundation members, will hang on the
wall outside the Barkley Forums office in the University Center.
The wall collage has been in place for a while, but Feldman said it is
being redone to coincide with the addition of the new inductees. Included among the alumni who will be inducted into The Foundation and honored at the awards banquet are Flournoy, former Congressman (and 1970 Georgia Speaker of the Year) Elliott Levitas and Miles Alexander, co-chair of the law firm Kilpatrick Stockton LLP and father of University Counsel Kent Alexander. |