First-year students experience life with a limited income

Posted by Texas A&M School of Law on Aug 27, 2019 3:31:25 PM

Texas A&M University School of Law first-year students participated in a poverty simulation during orientation last week. Conducted by the Texas Access to Justice Commission, the simulation's purpose, according to the Commission, was to give students a "small taste of what life is like on a limited income." Participants faced challenges that frequently plague families with limited resources, and they were asked to note thoughts and emotions for a discussion following the simulation. IMG_2416

One hour represented one month's time, and students had to survive by:

  • Keeping their housing secure
  • Buying the required amount of food each week
  • Keeping utilities on
  • Making all payments
  • Responding appropriately to unexpected factors
  • Keeping infants in daycare and school-age children in school

"This is not a game," said Shawna Smith-Thornton of TAMU Law's student affairs office. "Millions face these challenges every day."

Family profiles were distributed, and participants were asked to assess if their housing was too small for their families or if their neighborhoods were overcrowded. Some households received government assistance and had checks enclosed in their family packets. Picture cards represented belongings; and in some instances, families had to pawn or sell items to pay bills.

Those individuals with jobs had to visit their employers every week to receive a paycheck. Finally, expenses had to be paid at the beginning of the month with delinquency becoming a reality after the third week, if not earlier. Community resources for transportation, food, banking, legal aid, housing, health care and utilities were also available for families. 

IMG_2420Yet, as in real life, vendors were impatient and resources scarce--all things that budding law students needed to experience. 

"I participated and then facilitated a de-brief of a small group of students the next days. They gained some great insights. Glad we were able to do this as part of 1L orientation!" said Bob Probasco, senior lecturer and director of the low income tax clinic.

About the Texas Access to Justice Commission:

The Texas Access to Justice Commission, created by the Supreme Court of Texas in 2001, is charged with developing and implementing initiatives designed to expand access to, and enhance the quality of, justice in civil legal matters for low-income Texans. Specifically, the Commission aims to:

  • Identify and assess current and future needs for access to justice in civil matters by low-income Texans.
  • Create a framework for equitable access to justice by promoting policies, procedures, court rules, and legislation that reduce barriers to our judicial system.
  • Increase resources and funding for access to justice in civil matters.
  • Promote wise and efficient use of available resources and encourage the coordination or sharing of resources or funding.
  • Develop and implement other initiatives designed to expand civil access to justice, such as assisted pro se programs, strategic use of technology, and enhanced community education.
  • Monitor the effectiveness of the statewide system and services provided.

Topics: Texas A&M University School of Law, Bob Probasco, tamu law

Subscribe Here!

Recent Post

Post By topics

See all

About Texas A&M School of Law

Texas A&M School of Law is an American Bar Association-accredited institution located in downtown Fort Worth. In 2013, the law school acquired Texas Wesleyan University School of Law. Since integrating with Texas A&M five years ago, the law school has sustained a remarkable upward trajectory by dramatically increasing entering class credentials, adding nine clinics and six global field study destinations, increasing the depth and breadth of its career services, student services, academic support and admissions functions and hiring twenty-six new faculty members.

For more information, visit law.tamu.edu.

About Texas A&M University

Texas A&M, established in 1876 as the first public university in Texas, is one of the nation’s largest universities with more than 66,000 students and more than 440,000 living alumni residing in over 150 countries around the world. A tier-one university, Texas A&M holds the rare triple land-, sea- and space-grant designation. Research conducted at Texas A&M represented annual expenditures of more than $905.4 million in fiscal year 2017. Texas A&M’s research creates new knowledge that provides basic, fundamental and applied contributions resulting, in many cases, in economic benefits to the state, nation and world.

About Research at Texas A&M University: As one of the world's leading research institutions, Texas A&M is at the forefront in making significant contributions to scholarship and discovery, including that of science and technology. Research conducted at Texas A&M represented annual expenditures of more than $905.4 million in fiscal year 2017. Texas A&M ranked in the top 20 of the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development survey (2016), based on expenditures of more than $892.7 million in fiscal year 2016. Texas A&M’s research creates new knowledge that provides basic, fundamental and applied contributions resulting, in many cases, in economic benefits to the state, nation and world. To learn more, visit http://research.tamu.edu.