Record number of native grads from U of C

Almost 80 aboriginal students will graduate from the University of Calgary this year, the largest group of native students to get degrees from the school.

The campus Native Centre is excited about the milestone, but says more work needs to be done to encourage aboriginal people to attend university.

Peggy Dobson, who works at the centre, says there are challenges to increasing native enrolment.

"It's a change of cultures," she said. "A university is a different culture. And to some, it does mean they have to leave home and family and they will come back, but they will be changed. Things will never be quite the same as they were. And that's difficult to deal with."

Ethel Stonechild, who graduated with a sociology degree this week while her five children watched, says there's still a strong attitude in the native community that university isn't for them.

"I've suffered that attitude myself, that going on is something that only rich, wealthy people do," she said. "A lot of aboriginal youth don't believe that they can go the academic stream. They're not being supported. I'm not sure if it's within the community, on the reserves, or just their family and friends, or if it's just the whole of society."

Dobson said with more aboriginals graduating from university, there are more role models for students thinking about post-secondary education.

About 600 native students have received degrees from the University of Calgary, about six per cent of the institution's total graduates.