Entering the Contest

ELIGIBILITY: All students in Polk County schools, public or private, or homeschooled in Polk County.

DEFINITION: An editorial is a written expression of opinion. It takes a stand, usually for or against something or someone. It backs up that opinion with logical reasoning and, if possible, with facts and figures. A newspaper editorial tries to persuade readers that its opinion is right. It should be written in the third person (Example: "Florida should be better prepared for hurricanes,: not "I think Florida should be better prepared for hurricanes").

CATEGORIES: Awards will be presented in three categories – High School (9-12), Middle School (6-8), and Elementary School (K-5).

AWARDS: Cash prizes and plaques will go to the top three entries in each category. The three first-place winners will each receive a $250 award, the three second-place winners each will receive a $200 award and the three third-place winners each will receive a $150 award.

PUBLICATION: The nine winning student editorials will be announced and published on The Ledger’s Op-Ed Page on the tentative dates of DECEMBER 10, 11 and 12, along with photographs of the three first-place winners and the names of their teachers. Nine runners-up in each category also will be announced.

ONLINE POSTING: TheLedger.com will post the winners as outlined in “Publication” above. Additionally, videos of the three first-place winners reading their editorials will be taken by The Ledger and posted on TheLedger.com.

LENGTH: Editorials in the Elementary School category MUST be from 100 to 150 words. Editorials in the Middle School and High School categories MUST be from 300 to 400 words. Limits on length will be enforced.

JUDGING: Entries will be screened by the Communications Department at Florida Southern College. Winners will be selected by editors of The Ledger.

ISSUES: All entries must comment on ONE of the following topics:

• OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING. The House of Representatives and the Senate passed bills in September to end the ban on drilling for oil off the coast of the United States, except for Florida’s gulf coast. Will the ability to drill in coastal U.S. waters reduce the nation’s reliance on foreign oil supplies? Will it cut the cost of gasoline, diesel fuel and heating oil? Do the benefits of offshore oil drilling outweigh the environmental risks from which the 1981 offshore-drilling ban sought to protect?
• CHANGE FLORIDA’S MINIMUM DRIVING AGE TO 17. A report produced by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in September recommended that states raise the age for obtaining a driver’s license to 17 (or even 18). It cited studies of drivers in New Jersey, the only state with a minimum age of 17 for a driver’s license. They show that among 16- and 17-year-olds a smaller percentage is killed in auto crashes in New Jersey vs. the nearby states of Connecticut and Delaware. Would a 17-year-old driver’s license requirement in Florida save lives? Would it cause problems related to education, employment or family matters for 16-year-olds? Would benefits of an age requirement of 17 outweigh problems of not being able to drive at 16?
• REPLACE THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE WITH THE POPULAR VOTE. U.S. voters do not elect the president and vice president directly. Rather, they vote for electors who are pledged to their candidates. The electors form the electoral college, and they cast the votes that determine president and vice president. Should the nation replace the electoral college with the popular vote, under which the candidates receiving the most votes from voters would win the presidency and vice presidency? Would a popular-vote system be more fair? Would some states be ignored by presidential campaigns if the electoral college were replaced by a national popular vote?

DEADLINE: Teachers and/or department heads must submit their two (2) best entries per class by FRIDAY, NOV. 7. A homeschooled student’s parent or guardian may submit one entry. Each entry should contain: The name of the teacher (including his/her first name); the name and grade of the student; the name of the school and the city where the school is located. The teacher’s school e-mail address and school telephone number should be included, for contact purposes.

Entries may be hand-delivered to The Ledger offices at 300 W. Lime St., Lakeland, or 455 Sixth St. N.W., Winter Haven, or mailed to:

Student Editorial Contest

The Ledger

PO Box 408

Lakeland, FL 33802

QUESTIONS: For further information, call Glenn Marston, editorial page editor, at 863-802-7600 or send an e-mail to glenn.marston@theledger.com