The pamphlets described a study-abroad program that Clark Atlanta University offers in Kingston, Jamaica, a four-week program during the summer of 1997.  Each student participant would earn six credit-hours towards graduation.  Participants would each have to complete a fifteen-page research paper on a topic central to media.  The six credit-hours would be earned at the University of West Indies.  The cost for each participant was $3,000, a very good rate compared to other study abroad programs I have inquired about.  The description intrigued me so much that I began to think how great it would be to study in Jamaica. 

Our instructor then introduced a student who participated in the program the summer of 1996.  Describing the experience as unforgettable, she praised the program highly and encouraged each of us to apply.  She convinced me.  And even though I had not thought about the $3,000 cost, I was ready to go to Jamaica. 

My parents will do anything for my education, but I knew that they did not have an extra $3,000 for what amounted to summer school.  So certain I was of this that when my instructor dismissed class, I hurried to catch up with the student who had convinced me to study in Jamaica to ask her how she financed her trip.  She told me that her parents gave her some money, but that sponsors paid for the greater part of her trip.  She said that if I really wanted to go, I should find sponsors: family members, community leaders, and anyone else genuinely interested in helping Black collegians.  I thanked her, ran to the dormitory, and called my parents surprising them: I want to study in Jamaica this summer! I said. 

Calm, but curious, they asked lots of questions.  I told them all of the wonderful things I had just heard about Jamaica, everything about studying there, everything except the price.  The program is jointly sponsored by Clark Atlanta University, The University of Michigan and the University of West Indies.  It is open to every collegian with a 2.5 GPA and an interest in communications.  Participants of the program survey media in Jamaica and compare them with those in the U.S.  The program provides participants with an historical overview of the Caribbean and extensive information on Jamaican culture.  Though I said nothing about cost to my parents at this time, the estimated cost is $2,975. This cost includes round-trip airfare from Atlanta, lodging, tuition for six credit hours, meals, and pre-selected field trips. 

The program director is James D. McJinkins, a professor at Clark Atlanta who has directed the program since it began.  Collegians may get additional information and applications by contacting the Director at Clark Atlanta University on James P. Brawley Drive and Fair Street, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia, 30314 or by calling (404) 880-8309. 

The program is designed as an academic opportunity for collegians to develop a sense of the sociological, economic, and political realities faced by the people of Jamaica and of the Caribbean.  Participants must each submit a research project that compares the organizational structure, programming, policy-making, production techniques and administration of media systems in Jamaica and those of the United States.  The paper is due 30 days after participants return to the United States.  The research project should reflect the student's individual interests. 

Each participant earns three credit-hours in the course, Caribbean Culture and Society, taught by Dr. Clinton Hutton at University of West Indies.  Students may each earn an additional three hours credit by taking an independent study course supervised by a faculty member from Clark Atlanta University.  In addition to the formal study, participants have free time to travel throughout the island, exploring their own interests. 

The applications deadline is in February, the specific date changing each year.  Selections are made in early March.