Universal design is a framework centered around designing materials that are usable to the widest and most diverse range of people. Through the presentations each group presented and the in depth analysis the group I was in did I thought there was a pretty equal opportunity for everyone to get involved on campus. I am limited in this analysis since I am neither transgender, aboriginal or disabled so I can’t speak from any of those points of views. As an outsider from all these groups and looking at these websites it seemed the opportunity to get involved on its own is pretty universal. There were parts of each website that could be tweaked or added to make it easier for some of these groups to feel welcomed to getting involved on campus but for the goal of being universal I believe most of the sites did this.
Our group looked at the UBC work learn website through a transgender lens and when looking at this site at first it seemed pretty universal. The website stuck with using words like “everyone” or “all students” which would be universal to any of the groups we were looking at. We talked about how if you acknowledged these groups specifically on the website then you open up the issue of leaving a specific group out when trying address each group individually and by doing this would make it not as universal but more trying to be inclusive to every group.
While the wording for these websites were pretty universal there were changes that each group pointed out that could make these groups feel more welcomed to getting involved on campus. Our group looked at the picture displayed at the top of the website which was a male at the front of a classroom with the backs of a couple heads which also appeared to be males. While there is no way to know if the male in the photo was transgender or not we decided that this picture could be changed to show more diversity with males and females. For most of the other groups they pointed out parts of the website such as font sized increased and a accessibility section to be easier to be seen for people with disabilities. Almost every group noted that there were success stories or links about what being involved on campus was like and that having a diverse variety of stories could help make it be more welcoming. Whether its a transgender success story or a person with disabilities getting given the chance to work on campus it would give the people looking to apply for these positions the confidence and inspiration to get involved. This wouldn’t make the website any less universal but would give everyone a feeling of being welcomed to join.
I cant exactly take the position of the “other” since it would be unfair for me to make comments as something I am not but I do believe that other than changing some pictures and the name of the picture for that one group the websites content was very universal. The issue is now more “Is universal good enough?” because while there could be some website layout changes to these websites that could help with accessibility the websites were all pretty universal yet we all found things that could be problems through our specific lens. I believe adding success stories or comments about certain groups can help these groups feel more welcomed but for the question is there equal opportunity I do believe there is equal opportunity its just a matter of making these groups feel confident enough to take these opportunities.