Criminal background check - not sure what to do.

[fugyiuhiljkllj]

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At the very beginning of the Fall semester 2010 I got cited for public urination for peeing behind a bush on my own property on the side away from the street. Stupid, I know, but my friends and I were playing catch and I didn't feel like running inside.

Anyway, in my college town this is only a summary charge (non-traffic citation, like littering) for violating a Local Ordinance (not even a state law). Summary offenses are lower than a misdemeanor and I paid a small fine for it. I can honestly say that I have never been charged with a misdemeanor or felony, but in my state I can still find the record of the citation online.

Additionally, technically, any time you are cited/arrested anywhere in the world while enrolled as a student you may be in violation of the student code of conduct. After my citation I received the following email:

"Dear Student:
The purpose of this e-mail is to inform you that the Office of Judicial Affairs recently received a copy of a citation issued to you by the [LOCAL] Police Department. As you may or may not be aware, The University has a responsibility to enforce the Student Code of Conduct, even if the student conduct occurs off-campus
.
There is nothing further that you need to do at this time and no University charges or sanctions will be applied, however this incident has been recorded and may be used to determine charges and sanctions if additional allegations are referred to our office in the future. For information regarding student conduct related to off-campus violations, please refer to the Judicial Affairs website."

So, I've never been called to judicial affairs, charged, sanctioned, or anything which makes me think I've never actually been in violation of any rules because they refer to it as an "allegation" and it would be their responsibility to let me know if I have.

I guess my question is how to approach this? I don't want to torpedo my application by clicking yes to either question because it is such a minor thing, but I want to be honest so it doesn't look like I'm hiding anything even if its something as small as a fine.

What does SDN think? Anyone else been in a similar situation? I'm tempted to click "no" for misdemeanor/felony, but "yes" for school policy violation and briefly explain that nothing ever came from it.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[timwatley]

I honestly wouldn't sweat it. Peeing in public has nothing to do with your moral character or your abilities to be a dentist. A DUI, on the other hand, is a big deal because it's a poor decision that can really harm yourself/other people.

I know a couple people that had minor charges (MIP, open container) and they checked 'no' on aadsas. Nothing ever came up and they got in. I'm not encouraging you to do that, just saying that for some it has worked. Look up your state laws and see where you stand.

 

[fugyiuhiljkllj]

Thanks Dr. Whatley (how's the conversion going? hahaha). I really don't think that I should check yes, because according to my state laws it is not a misdemeanor, but a local ordinance violation. And as far as the university goes, they never even asked to meet with me let alone punish me so I think that I would know if I had violated the student code. Did your friends click no for both questions on the application?

I would like to hear what some other people have to say on the topic though.

Thanks again.

 

[Blue87Fiero]

I don't think I would list it. It was just a dumb mistake.

 

[timwatley]

Yeah they clicked no and ended up passing their background checks just fine and all that. That's what I would do if I were you. Conversion is great, I have access to twice as many jokes 😉