I put this in a diary (for only the fifth time in maybe 13 months) because I didn't want it lost in an open thread.
One of my graduating seniors came by to ask for a letter of recommendation for law school. I'm delighted to know this particular young man will be studying law; he's very bright and does excellent work when he is motivated. He's not sure what branch of the law he wishes to go into, but he is certain that he wants to be able to help others. In fact, I'm pretty sure he's a dyed in the wool left wing wacko just like all of us here. He plans to accomplish a great deal in his legal career, but he has to address a serious ethical question before applying. More on the flip.
Here is the dilemma. In his sophomore year my student was busted for possession of pot. For what it's worth, he assures me (and I believe him) he's long since stopped using it. When I was his age, I was a long way away from stopping. But he's not sure whether to disclose this bust in his law school applications.
My first suggestion was that he disclose it: he is a very forthright person by nature; disclosing it was his first instinct and it would eat him up if he failed to do the right thing by keeping it a secret. Besides, a single pot bust isn't sufficient grounds to keep a deserving kid out of law school... right?
But now I'm not so sure. I'd feel awful if I counseled him to do something that screwed up his future. Would it be wiser for him to keep his piehole shut and hope that nobody checks to see if he has a rap sheet? Any advice would be much appreciated by an aspiring law student and his bewildered Latin professor.