Peace Corps Disqualification
Two weeks ago was my co-worker Shane's birthday. To celebrate, several co-workers gathered at a local bar. I got there sometime after I got out of French class at 9pm. We all had a round of shots shortly after I arrived and then I slowly worked on two beers over the course of the next 2.5+ hours, because I was planning on driving home and being responsible, after all. Around 12:30 I departed. A police car was lurking just outside the bar and pulled me over about 30 seconds after my departure.
I still don't think I had done anything wrong -- I had consumed just under the "one drink per hour" recommendation and well under the threshhold for it to actually effect me. However the officer got my blood alcohol at .09 and arrested me. I proceeded to spend the next fourteen hours learning about the joys of the cold hard concrete benches and barely palatable food of the Orange County Jail.
Now aside from all the usual expensive and painful side effects of getting arrested for a DUI, there is another one that concerns me even more.
When I called the Peace Corps to report the development to them,
my placement officer cheerfully told me I did the right thing by telling them right away and transferred me to the legal eligibility specialist ... who informed me of the the Peace Corps Policy on alcohol related arrests:...any arrests, citations, or other legal incidents related to alcohol or illegal drugs that occur during the application process, including up to the day of departure, will also disqualify an applicant. An applicant who is disqualified for the above reasons may reapply after one year.
...
Applicants charged with or convicted of Public Intoxication, DUI, DWI, or who receive a reduced charge of, or conviction for, Reckless Driving from an initial charge of DUI or DWI, or who have a similar alcohol-related offense in their legal history, are not eligible to have their application considered for Peace Corps service until one year has passed from the date of the offense or conviction, whichever is later. This includes arrests and citations.
...
There are no exceptions to this policy and there is no appeal process.
My file has been disqualified from consideration.
I can apply again in a year, but I've already been working on this application for a year. I don't have another year to sit around waiting for it to go through.
And personally, I think their policy is fairly draconian and irrationally inflexible. If you are arrested for an alcohol related offense, it does not matter if it is dismissed, never charged, or found not guilty, all possible outcomes which legally speaking should render it as if it never happened. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? In this case it does not matter if you're proven innocent, you're still guilty.
They took the time not to clear me medically until my dentist had double checked and wrote them a letter about a tiny shadow THEIR dental specialist was concerned about on one of my teeth, they sent back for me to go back to my MD three times about specific questions they had. They put my whole file on hold for awhile so I could learn French better. Why can't they extend the same specific attention to waiting to see the outcome of the DUI case? Why should my file be thrown out if I'm never convicted??
Anyway, well Peace Corps was my plan. Now I need a new plan. At this point the plan is to apply to EVERYTHING all over again. This includes
(1) back to taking the Foreign Service Exam every time it's available, and also sending out applications to every UN agency and similar international organization I can think of. I'd like to think my degree in International Relations isn't completely useless...
(2) I've already dusted off my LSAC account to apply to law schools over again. In addition to international law programmes, this time I will also be looking at maritime law programmes
(3) What is probably the most practical is a job in the apiculture / beekeeping industry. There seem to actually be a lot out there, ranging from seasonal laborers to highly skilled beekeepers wanted to lead beekeeping operations in large operations. With my experience I probably have a decent shot at a pretty decent job on the higher end of these things. In addition to my current experience, my current boss is sending me in April to get certified in queen breeding and artificial insemination, which will be a huge feather in my beekeeping resume hat;
(4) Another idea I'm very excited about is potentially going to one of the maritime academies. I would come out with a bachelor of science in "marine transportation" and a "third mate unlimited" license, which is the beginning of the ladder to be a captain of the largest of ships. Of the class of 2010 at the California Maritime Academy, 97% were employed in their field three months after graduation, with an average starting salary of $69,000. Sounds a lot more useful than my current apparently-useless degree! Unfortunately it would mean going to school for another four years, which seems kind of silly since I already DID that. But then again apparently 9% of their entering transfer students already have a bachelors degree so I guess I'm not the only one. Anyway I love being at sea, I loved being a watch officer, I love every piece of homework I get for my coastal navigation class (and have yet to make a single mistake on either homework or a test!), so I think I would really love doing this.
So yeah. In conclusion, my Peace Corps plans a year in the making, completely torpedoes by inaccurate benchmarks of what constitutes intoxication and Peace Corps' own draconian and inflexible policy. I still don't feel I did anything wrong, I was being consciously responsible at the time.
Totally Unrelated Picture of the Day
And here's Brigantine The Loofah as seen from the deck of Ketch Hawaiian Chieftain, Jan 1st, 2011