Age: 21 | Hometown: Denver
Although all roads supposedly lead to Rome, the study abroad path is one few black undergraduates take during their tenure at Duke.
Jazmyn Singleton is one of the few.
The Trinity junior is studying in the "capital of the world" and touring Europe during the Spring 2007 semester.
In Fall 2006, out of a record-high 475 students that studied abroad in a Duke program, only 27 were black-6.7 percent. Overall, black undergraduates comprise 10.1 percent of the general student body.
Margaret Riley, associate dean for study abroad and director of the Office of Study Abroad, explains the underrepresentation to be a convergence of factors linked to athletics, social life and academics.
Singleton is studying with Loyola University at Chicago's program in Rome. She thinks the primary reason for this discrepancy is the expense, even though financial aid covered some of her cost.
"I had to save and take out a loan," she says. "There are a lot of incidental costs that financial aid doesn't take into account. For instance, I had to spend the night in Norfolk, Va., at the last minute to get my study visa. The hotel was expensive, and I had to eat for a day and a half. Little things like that."
On campus, Singleton tutors in the Durham School District, helped choose last year's Last Day of Classes band and is an intern in the Mary Lou Williams Center for black culture. She is a "sucker" for Laguna Beach and likes music ranging from Jay-Z to jazz.
Her decision to come to Duke was based on the viewbook. "I though the community was going to be less diverse but also less segregated. Not that segregation is entirely bad, but I felt like people weren't open to discovering common interests with people of other races," she says. "People thought you could only do stuff if you were of that race. You can only come to the BSA if you are black. You could only go to SigEp's Yacht party if you are white. The perception was 'You shouldn't go,' or, 'Why would you want to go?"
To Singleton, being black at Duke means being part of a fairly new legacy dating back to the early 1960s. She says the lacrosse incident really made her question what being black at Duke means. "Growing up as a black woman, nothing is going to be handed to you," she says. "You are going to have to work for everything you want. The lacrosse incident made me think maybe it's up to me to look after my own safety. Maybe I can't think that Duke has my back."
Thousands of miles away, however, the lacrosse case is less pressing. Among the sidewalk cafes and ancient ruins, Singleton is proving there is no one path to Rome, or through Duke. Gazing upon the Coliseum lit-up at night, she notes that she is struck by how fortunate she is. "There is nothing that amazing in the United States."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.