The

Undeniable

Ruth

®

…and the Ruth shall set you free!

  • Screwed by the ASU Tuition Classification System

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    Ruth Carter

    One of the benefits of ASU Law School is that non-resident students have the option to be classified as a resident for tuition purposes after one year if they intend to stay in Arizona after graduation.  For one student, who will remain nameless, the system failed him.

    Money
    Image by TW Collins via Flickr

    To be considered a resident in the eyes of ASU, the student has to prove “by clear and convincing evidence” that they had been continuously physically present in the state for 12 months and intend to stay in Arizona indefinitely.  ASU assumes you’re only there to get an education.  A student can prove their intent to stay in Arizona with documents such as a tax return, driver’s license, car registration, bank account, insurance, voter registration, and proof of ownership of property in the state.

    My friend got into other law schools that are better than ASU, but he picked ASU because of Arizona’s strong legal market and the school’s high career placement for its graduates.  He complied with the rule regarding residency and submitted his application to have his residency status changed.  Surprisingly, his application was denied.  The committee claimed one of the reasons for the denial was that his financial support came from all student sources.  This is completely inaccurate.  He had a full tuition scholarship, but he paid for his living expense out of his savings.  Basically he was denied in-state tuition because he was smart and was fiscally responsible.

    He appealed the decision.  When a student appeals a residency decision, they have to appear before a 3-person panel and state their case.  The panel asks questions and then deliberates right in front of the student before rendering a decision.  Allegedly, my friend’s appeal was hijacked by one of the panel members from University Libraries.  According to my friend, she shared her assumptions about law students with her fellow panel members, such as law school applicants go to the best school they get into and that law school graduates can get jobs anywhere.  Apparently she wasn’t aware that passing the bar exam only allows you to practice law in one state, unless there is reciprocity.  The panel allegedly considered these assumptions about law students rather than the facts that my friend presented.

    Now, my friend is wicked smart and a great guy in general.  He has a summer associate position lined up, and if all goes well, he could be offered a job for after graduation.  His statements to the panel regarding future employment were not unrealistic.

    The worst thing the panel mentioned in their deliberation was his alleged lack of community connections.  Anyone who understands law school knows that students don’t have much time for a social life.    Furthermore, the panel said that he could have established intent if he had mentioned that he was a member of a church!  ASU is a public school and the panel never asked if he was member of a church.  The panel disregarded his connections with Teach for America, Junior Law, and Community Legal Services because he could have been involved in these organizations regardless of where he lived.  Isn’t the same true for a church?

    So, despite my friend following the rules, he got screwed over by the system and there’s nothing he can do but pay the more expensive non-resident tuition, reapply for residency, and hope if it’s denied, that he has a panel that decides his case on the facts and not their assumptions.

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  • SALK Day 1 – What Am I Doing??

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    Ruth Carter

    Welcome to  2011 and the beginning of Sponsor A Law Kid!

    This is my endeavor to pay for my last semester of law school at Arizona State University.  People are sponsoring various days between January 1st and July 27th in exchange for having blogs written about them, their business, or the topic of their choice.  Today’s sponsor asked me to use my first day to give a little background information about myself.

    I went to St. Vincent High School in Petaluma, California where I took every honors and advanced placement class in math and science.  By the time I graduated, I was convinced that I was destined to get a Ph.D. in chemistry and win the Nobel Prize.  I liked working on problems and being able to find a concrete conclusion at the end.  I had amazing teachers who nurtured me along the way.  After high school, I went to Oregon State University and majored in chemistry for two years.  There I learned that I didn’t like being trapped in a lab all day.  I was also a Resident Assistant I learned that I liked working with people in a problem solving role.  Much to the shock of my classmates and mentors, I changed my major to psychology.  After graduation, I went on to get a masters degree in counseling, moved to Phoenix, and became a therapist working with adults living with HIV.

    Being a therapist was often rewarding, but at times it was frustrating because I was in a role where I was working at my clients’ pace, not mine.  I could diagnose clients with the best of them and I could make suggestions about what they might want to do to improve their lives, but there was nothing I could do to make them actually put these ideas into actions.  My hands were tied, and I often felt like I was trapped in my office.  I wanted a more active role in the problem solving process.

    I came to law school hoping to find the best of two worlds – helping people with their problems and being an active member of the problem solving team.  I am glad I chose Arizona State for school because of its Center for Law, Science, and Innovation.  My plan is to practice intellectual property and internet law.

    During law school, I have become involved in the social media and to a lesser degree, the podcasting communities.  These are the type of people I want to have as clients some day.  In November 2010, I was out for a run and catching up on my podcasts.  I heard an interview with Jason Sadler, founder of I Wear Your Shirt.  He makes a living producing content and advertising companies by wearing their shirts.  I thought he was a genius.  He inspired me to tweak his idea and instead of selling days in exchange for wearing people’s shirts, I could sell days in exchange for writing blogs for my sponsors.  I checked with one of my social media friends and he said to run with the idea.

    To date, I’ve sold 33 days with other potential sponsors considering which days they want to buy.  This program has paid for ~20% of my tuition.  One potential sponsor opted to give me a $1000 scholarship in lieu of sponsoring a day.  I will be selling days until the program is over or until I run out of days.  I want to thank all my sponsors in advance for participating in this program and contributing to my education.

    Sponsor A Law Kid is my endeavor to pay for my last semester of law school.  Today’s sponsors are Darvin and Jane DeShazer.  For more information about Sponsor A Law Kid or to see what days are still available for sponsorship, visit my Sponsor A Law Kid page.

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  • Sponsor A Law Kid

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    Ruth Carter

    I’ve always called myself a “law kid.” I think it’s a sign that I knew from the start that I wasn’t a traditional law student and that I didn’t want to be a typical lawyer. As I look to the future, I know I don’t want a job that keeps me trapped in an office all day. I want to be a lawyer who is also a lecturer, writer, and podcaster.

    One of my priorities in law school, regardless of how busy I am, is to stay involved in my community. I’m pleased and proud that I’ve been able to volunteer with Ignite Phoenix and Improv AZ, attend #evfn, and find time and forums for singing. I hope these activities will contribute to a happy and successful career after law school.

    I will graduate from Arizona State University in May 2011, and I will take the Bar Exam in July. My goal is to be “the lawyer to the geeks” and specialize in internet law and intellectual property. I also hope I can do something to prevent cyberharassment through public speaking. I experienced cyberharassment as an adult and it was awful. I can’t image how hard it must be for a child to go through that.

    When I applied to law school, the average debt for a student graduating from my program was ~$50,000. Today, the average debt is over $89,000! That’s insane!  How did my education get $40,000 more expensive?!  I have one semester left, plus studying for and taking the Bar.  I’m reaching out to the online community to help me pay for it.

    The Program
    Sponsor A Law Kid gives anyone who wants to the opportunity to sponsor my legal education for a day. It will run from January 1, 2011 until July 27, 2011 – the last day of the Arizona Bar Exam. Each day can have one sponsor.
    I will also be tweeting every day about the life of a law student, so anyone who follows me can vicariously go to law school for a semester.

    The Price
    I am using the same price structure as Jason Sadler of I Wear Your Shirt.  The cost to sponsor January 1st is only $1, and the price for each subsequent day goes up by $1 (Jan. 2nd = $2, Jan. 3rd = $3, Jul. 27th = $208).

    Why Sponsor A Law Kid?
    Why should anyone give up a couple bucks, or a couple hundred bucks, to help pay for my education? In exchange for your sponsorship, for each day that I’m sponsored, I’ll publish a blog that tells the world how awesome you, your organization, and/or your products are. Also, it will give you a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that you’re part of something awesome.

    I can’t promise you that I’ll keep you out of jail once I’m a lawyer to give free legal advice – that would violate the code of ethics. However, when I make it on the legal lecture circuit, and I have to decide where I’m speaking next, it will be hard for me to decline an invitation from one of my law school sponsors.

    How Do I Sponsor A Day?
    Please contact me at SponsorALawKid@gmail.com to claim the day you want to sponsor.  You can pick your date based on price, or might want to pick a day because it’s a special day for you or me.  I will be running a half marathon on January 16th ($16), and my graduation day is expected to be May 12th or 13th ($132 or $133).  Pi Day is March 14th ($73) and Star Wars Day is May 4th ($124).

    What Else Can I Do?
    Spread the word! Send this to everyone who might be interested in sponsoring a law kid or following a sponsored law kid. I’ll be using the hashtag #SALK to tweet about my law school exploits.   Please follow me on Twitter and I hope to have a Facebook cause for this up soon.

    The Sponsor A Law Kid Facebook page can be found here.

    The most recent update about Sponsor A Law Kid can be found here.

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