Eboni Boykin gained attention for attending

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

despite a severely disadvantaged high school experience. Her story of earning a full scholarship to an

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

university, after spending some of her high school years homeless, circulated as an inspirational narrative. She was used as an example in a

criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

textbook to illustrate the

social control theory In criminology, social control theory proposes that exploiting the process of socialization and social learning builds self-control and reduces the inclination to indulge in behavior recognized as antisocial. It derived from functionalist theo ...

of crime (with Boykin's success proving that "a strong bond to society" can prevent

juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior younger than the statutory age of majority. These acts would be considered crimes if the individuals committing them were older. The term ...

). The wide press coverage of Boykin's story was held as exemplary of the way news stories describe primarily white institutions, but not

historically black colleges and universities Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

, as the real "liberators of Black students who are low-income and first-generation, despite HBCUs catering to these types of students for decades." Boykin graduated from Columbia in May 2016. In 2016, Boykin wrote and directed a short horror film called "Afterbirth."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boykin, Eboni Columbia University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people