University lecturer wins Silver Pen Award

Louis Moyston, The Gleaner's Silver Pen Award winner for September 2015, has described his achievement as a very special one.

The University of The West Indies lecturer received the prestigious award for a letter he wrote to the editor, published on September 14, 2015.

"When I got the letter first, I thought the thing was a joke when I saw the email thing, and I said, 'how I must get Silver Pen and I don't write for The Gleaner?" Moyston questioned.

"Now, when I write my letters to (the) editor, I write it to send to The Gleaner because I have a tradition of research and I rely on documents. I rely a lot on Gleaner documents, especially from the past, and I use a lot of letters to the editor because they are giving you information, those letters from the public," Moyston said.

He continued: "So whatever I try to write, I try to make it something that has some distinction ... and I like when my letters get letters of the day, that kind of thing, so I make sure I do something special. But what is most special about this award, it is a small award, but in my mind it is very big. It's like David against Goliath after writing for so many years," Moyston said, declaring that he has been sending letters to the editor since 1995.

Moyston said he has never received recognition for his writings until now, stating that he does not write for recognition, and exclaimed that he writes articles that can help people.

In his award-winning letter, titled 'Rethink pitchy-patchy education projects', he summarised his vision for Jamaica's education system. He described requests made by various persons, who felt that Jamaica needed new tertiary institutions to be timely, to be out of place and expressed full support of the idea that more two-year tertiary institutions be built to provide students with world-class education, aimed towards self and national development.

The former Morant Bay High School old boy also spoke in his letter of his hope for other parishes outside of Kingston to be included in plans for the construction of relevant educational institutions.