A week of events orients new students to law school life

Blue-shirted “student ambassadors” greeted the incoming students as they arrived on Aug. 23. What followed was a whirlwind of information, support and fun – along with some serious reminders that lawyers have a special obligation to high ethical standards and access to justice.Blue-shirted “student ambassadors” greeted the incoming students as they arrived on Aug. 23. What followed was a whirlwind of information, support and fun – along with some serious reminders that lawyers have a special obligation to high ethical standards and access to justice.

“We wanted to make this a signature event to designate a transition in their life,” says Lillie Wiley-Upshaw, vice dean for admissions and student life, who led the committee that organized orientation week. “They’ll become different people, and we wanted to recognize this from the first day of orientation.”

Along with greetings from Dean Makau W. Mutua and other faculty and administrators, the 1Ls heard a brief history of the Law School and watched a video from the school’s recent 125th anniversary celebrations. They also took an oath – a tradition at many other law schools, but a first at SUNY Buffalo – in which they promised, among other things, to “be fair, honest, courteous and respectful to all people and commit [themselves] to service with integrity and without prejudice.”

An exercise on the next day of orientation reinforced that commitment to service. Created with the help of the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County, the Community Action Poverty Simulation had students role-play different situations faced by people living close to the poverty line. The goal was to drive home the reality that poor people face a frustrating maze of challenges in the everyday struggle to survive, and that lawyers can change those lives for the better.

Students were assigned to a “family” and given a description of their circumstances. For example, one might play the role of a 45-year-old male head of household with three children and a disabled wife, unemployed and needing job training. His fellow students would fill the other roles in the family. A set of props – play money, pretend Social Security cards and the like – added verisimilitude. The challenge was to deal with different government agencies (run by staff members and current students) to accomplish tasks like applying for public assistance.

As the orientation students learned, it’s not an easy life. They found themselves filling out applications, stuck in waiting rooms, short of money for gasoline or bus fare. In some cases, robbers stole their Social Security card and they had to start over. Play-acted unsavory characters added to the sense of realism.

“We tried to simulate, as much as possible, the same sorts of circumstances that people who live on the line would experience,” Wiley- Upshaw says.

After the role play was over, she says, staff members debriefed the experience with the students. It wasn’t news to all of them: “Some said, ‘That’s not too far off from my life. It’s what I’ve had to live with and deal with,’ ” Wiley-Upshaw says.

For all the students, though, the take-away message was one of professional responsibility. “Lawyers are really advocates, and they’re essential in our society because they are there to help people in need,” Wiley-Upshaw says. “This was a good way for them to start conceptualizing themselves in the role of lawyers in our society. No matter how you use your law degree, understanding and listening to people’s stories is an important part of their skill set.”

The simulation was followed by a tour of Carolyn’s House, in Niagara Falls, a supportive housing program for homeless women and children that also offers education, counseling, advocacy and support services to its clients. The facility was created with significant help from the Law School’s Affordable Housing Clinic.

Also part of orientation week for the Class of 2016: small-group and panel discussions with faculty and alumni on what to expect in Law School; visits to downtown courts; a Student Bar Association barbecue and a chartered bus to the Elmwood Festival of the Arts; an alumni reception featuring a “Buffalo Thanksgiving Feast”; and a 3.5-mile run/walk in Delaware Park that raised $500 to benefit the Law School’s clinical program. Over 100 people completed the two laps of the park’s scenic Ring Road.