A Letter From the Publisher

By John A. Meyers

Working at TIME often carries extra responsibilities. Some writers and editors are asked to comment on events for radio and TV. Others give lectures and, at this time of year, commencement addresses. For a few, one of the more rewarding off-the-job tasks has been judging the TIME Education Program's annual student writing contest, which awards a $5,000 scholarship to each of its three top competitors. This month a special publication containing the 1985 winning entries is being sent to the 400,000 students and 4,500 teachers who participate in the program, which uses TIME to help students learn about current affairs and improve their vocabulary and reading skills.

This year's contest, which was open to all high school students, drew more than 500 submissions in three areas: national events, world affairs and a feature category. A panel of educators from around the country winnowed the articles to 15 in each group. They were then sent on to Senior Writer Ed Magnuson and Associate Editor J.D. Reed. Says Magnuson: "I look forward to the exercise. And I'm always impressed by the quality of the writing." For Reed, a former teacher of creative writing, evaluating student writing is an agreeably familiar task. "Judging these essays brings out all of my professorial impulses," he says.

The overall winner of this year's contest is Dan Cray, 18, of Wofford Heights, Calif., for his national-events entry, "Free Enterprise Reaches the Final Frontier," a 675-word story on the new business of rocketing the ashes of the dead into space. Cray, who graduated from Kern Valley High School in Lake Isabella, Calif., last week, is an aspiring journalist and plans to attend Santa Monica College.

Jordana Simone Bernstein, 18, a senior at John H. Glenn High School in East Northport, N.Y., won in the feature category for "Making Headlines," a discussion of the pros and cons of technology. She will enter Harvard University in the fall. The world-affairs winner is Richard Carne, 15, of Mendham, N.J., for his examination of moves toward reconciliation by West Germany and East Germany. Carne is a sophomore at the Delbarton School in Morris Township, N.J., where his article began as a history paper. "I'm extremely pleased -- and very surprised," says Carne. "I didn't think I stood a chance."