Hovering over the proceedings, immortalized in oil paint, is the austere eminence of Edwin W. Lawrence '01. Later in his life, by endowing the forensics professorship that Snider holds, he would ensure that debate at the university would remain lively for years. Lockwood's debate partner, Aaron Fishbone, arrives, clutching the all-important stopwatch. A slim, dark-haired sophomore, Fishbone is operating on a few hours of sleep after staying up all night doing research. He is a promising debater, earlier this year ranked with his former partner, Peter Winfield, as third among novice debate teams in the United States.
Fishbone quickly gets down to work.
A pen tucked between his lips, he sifts through his folders and passes Lockwood new pieces of evidence. Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Syria and North Korea. As the practice debate begins, Lockwood stands to take the first affirmative argument. She ties her blonde hair in a knot at the nape of her neck, leans over her notes and rattles off facts and evidence like an auctioneer on her tenth cup of coffee. For the uninitiated, it's possible to understand maybe one out of every eight or nine words.