<p>The short answer is “yes” – and keep that in mind when you bump into the jerk over the next few short weeks of summer. </p>
<p>Have a heart to heart with your lawyer and find out how fast you can get this adjudicated. Get informed, fast, on what “sealed record” means in your state and get on the websites of your scholarship and destination college and read everything you can about revocations.</p>
<p>Most of the time colleges and scholarship groups keep revocation as an option in case an incoming student ends up being somebody they really don’t want to be on campus or associated with their name (think drug runner, child molester, domestic abuser and other really nasty stuff) — but each college and each scholarship sponsor has a different level of tolerance. One campus might shrug at a minor pot bust or fisticuffs and another might want to hang a kid out to dry, in part to inspire fear and respect in other students. </p>
<p>So you are on the line here. In the adult world (if you are 18 or over or age 16 and over in some events and jurisdictions) an argument that leads to blows being exchanged is an assault. Each state and sometimes each county has specifics that delineate the level of seriousness (such as amount of bodily injury, whether or not the assault was premeditated and so on). The same amount of pushing and shoving that used to get you an interview with the principal now can get you jail time – including serious jail time. </p>
<p>If you were my kid, I’d advise you to work with the attorney (good move), and be massively proactive about showing that you are now a changed guy (for instance, in my county there is a dispute resolution center that offers negotiation classes. I’d have my kid sign up for a ton of those plus whatever anger management classes are locally available). In short, I’d work to have the kid be able to stand in front of the judge and show THROUGH HIS ACTIONS (not just words) that he has taken steps to not repeat the event. </p>
<p>Talk to your attorney about whether or not it is appropriate for you to write a letter of apology to the other guy, to the principal of your high school, to the police dept. and whoever else who was on the horizon. (Check this out carefully with the attorney because such letters can end up being a problem instead of an improvement – but, done right, it might be a good step). </p>
<p>Hopefully you can get the legal stuff zoomed through quickly so then you are in a position to communicate to the college. It is far better to be able to say “I am notifying you that I was involved in an argument and it has been resolved and I have now enrolled in Peace Negotiations 101 to ensure I never again am in this situation” than to write “I am notifying you that I am under investigation for assault charges.”</p>
<p>If you have a calm and collected parent, you might ask them to contact college admissions and say “My son was involved in a local incident and is working to resolve it. We believe he will be doing some community service and there will be no record. I’d rather not go into details right now, but will you please tell me what information the college would like to have?” and then they can collect some general information on what the college folks think is important. </p>
<p>Take a huge lesson from what happened to Rep. Weiner lately. He sent lewd photos of himself to a young woman (he’s married) and then he spent a week denying all of it. Finally the truth came out. People not only think he’s a jerk (for sending the photos) but also a liar (which he is). He would have come out ahead if he’d started with “I was a jerk and I will never do that again” rather than “I was a jerk and a liar”. </p>
<p>Hopefully your own ugly episode was a huge wake up call and you recognize that your college career is a heck of lot more important than what ever stupid stuff that jerkface spouts in your direction. </p>
<p>I suspect you can navigate this and be fine – but be careful and take as many insurance steps as possible to keep things moving your way. Good luck!</p>