Yes, unless we know the specifics of his colleagues situation and license ANY answer we give is purely conjecture based on hypothetical circumstances. Perhaps his colleague’s application was improperly evaluated and he got “lucky”. Then again it is possible it was evaluated correctly and he was allowed to take the open book exam. Maybe his colleague wisely did a Continuity Renewal which made his license a lot easier to reactivate. Unless we know the facts we are just pissin’ in the wind.