Do you remember the excitement you felt at the start of college? How filled with joy you were, how on top of the world you felt? Joshua Jackson probably felt the same way, until he was recently told that he would not be able to live in the residence halls at East Central University in Oklahoma unless he hires an overnight aide to stay with him. This is because Jackson, 35, cannot take care of himself. In 1999, Jackson was involved in a serious car crash that caused a broken neck, leaving him a quadriplegic. As such, university officials are concerned with his safety as a resident of one of the dormitories on campus.

Jackson has an assistant to help him get into bed from his wheelchair at night and from bed to his wheelchair in the morning, which he cannot do on his own due to his complete lack of lower body use and limited arm use. While Jackson has lived on his own before, he cannot convince school officials that he does not need an overnight aide. According to the vice president of student development, a person who cannot evacuate the dormitory on his or her own violates school policy. This is why Jackson will be forced to move out of the dorms at the end of this semester unless he complies with the university's ruling.

Even if Jackson did agree with the university in attempts to secure his safety as a resident on campus, there is still a problem: Mr. Jackson does not have the money to pay an assistant for an extra eight hours everyday. Even though there are possible scholarships or grants Jackson could apply for, none would completely cover the cost of an overnight aide. By being forced to move out of the dorms next semester, he will be more financially strained because of the commute he will be forced to make just to attend class like he is doing now.

Similar to ECU, Cornell’s Student Disability Services attempts to accommodate disabled students so that they have access to the same opportunities as other students with the most independence that is possible. Specifically, Disability Service employees try to find accommodations that will most benefit the student in question. However, students are responsible for paying for all aids or assistance for their disabilities, ranging from pieces of equipment, such as hearing aids, to people who will assist them in vital living activities, such as dressing.

In the sense of financial aid, Cornell is equivalent to East Central University in its policies pertaining to disabled students. If Joshua Jackson were to attend Cornell instead, it would be interesting to see what the Student Disability Services would do to accommodate him in order to remain true to the motto “any person, any study”.