Through the lens of an Aboriginal student at UBC, defined as someone who is registered under the Indian Act, or who have Metis or Inuit ancestry, my peers and I analyzed the Jumpstart Orientation Leader (JOL) webpage for its accessibility and the level it reflected upon the perspective of this particular group of students. We quickly realized how challenging the activity was as none of us identify as Aboriginal and we possess little background knowledge about the specific challenges that they may face. It became an uncomfortable situation for me when we had to make such assumptions; all in all, limiting our approach to for an accurate analyzation.
Despite these limitations, we drew some conclusions to the best of our abilities. As the JOL webpage is part of the UBC Student Services webpage, we concluded that because the Aboriginal student is already enrolled in UBC, the website is generally accessible to them. This conclusion also considers the fact that the “readability score” of the webpage is at a grade 11 level, meaning that any UBC student should have no issues reading it. Reading through the entire webpage itself, our group noticed how the desired skills and experiences focused on those that could reflect on all individuals and not a particular class, status, race, or gender. This is where we concluded that the concept of Universal Design was well implemented. However, drawing upon the other perspectives that our fellow classmates presented, it drew to my attention that the webpage may not be as accessible to other underrepresented student bodies such as international students and those with a disability. Despite the effort to be inclusive to all, the JOL position may not present equal opportunities to these groups because of their physical and mental disabilities and language barriers.
The challenges involved in this activity differ through the Aboriginal lens. Being Aboriginal doesn’t necessarily impose such drawbacks, but rather more abstract ones. Our group discussed how the context of being an Aboriginal student in itself may affect their desire to become involved in such a position. They may find it difficult to connect with a vast group of people who may not even be aware of what it means to be Aboriginal in Canada. From lecture, we learned that Aboriginals only compose 1% of the UBC student population. It is reasonable to assume that it’s already difficult for them to create a sense of community for themselves; let alone take on the role to do so for a group of international students. Through this realization, our group concluded that the barriers of becoming involved as a JOL is not rooted in the content of the webpage itself, but may be rooted in the context of what it means to be Aboriginal. This includes the opportunities to become immersed in student involvement of other areas in the university and the ability to commit time to the position. Statistically speaking, Aboriginals are more likely to be in the lower bracket of social economic class. If they already have commitments of working a job in order to provide for their families and themselves, then their knowledge of the volunteer experience on campus, which is a desired experience for the position, may be limited.
To address the question of whether there are equal opportunities to be involved on campus, it is near impossible for it to be true. While the concept of Universal Design is present on the physical webpage, the vast complications present across all groups of students makes it difficult for the layout of the website to fully address it all.