Party scene...

viva_sweet_love · 01-24-2007, 09:06 PM

I asked this in another thread but I'll ask it here.

What's the party scene like at Columbia?

Do tell.

zerocool920 · 01-24-2007, 09:37 PM

haha better if i am accepted

Skraylor · 01-25-2007, 09:13 AM

hit or miss. in my experience they tend to be really good or they tend to be bad, nothing in between tho

Gatsby · 01-26-2007, 11:35 AM

The school has a surprisingly low nerd-percentage--it's not ASU, but it certainly isn't CalTech

columbia2007 · 01-26-2007, 02:02 PM

On the downside, the school doesn't have much space in its residence halls for parties...they tend to be crammed into tiny suites, and even the fraternities/special interest houses are narrow brownstone structures that are not ideal for this purpose. So parties tend to be relatively small (though this doesn't necessarily detract from their quality). They're also probably less widespread/frequent than at schools without other nightlife options.

Also, unlike Harvard, which has actively attempted to improve social life, there are very few school or class council sponsored parties, and fewer still without significant encumberments to alcohol, if one desires it. Exceptions to this (like "Lerner Pub" for seniors) only tend to attract a limited number of people. Still, I've heard Columbia's smaller, more private parties compared favorably to Harvard's attempts at social life engineering.

Denzera · 01-26-2007, 02:17 PM

I could do a 500-word in-depth job on this, or stick to the 30 second summary, which is: Campus life revolves around no one thing, which is unusual at colleges. There are frat-parties, but they are not epic in scale and not a requirement for a social life. Many people go to bars (of age and underage), but not everyone can afford that. Plenty of people have small-scale house parties in their apartment or suite.

Very occasionally, there will be epic alcohol-fueled bashes like my sophomore year, when a halloween party in ruggles took over the entire building, had maybe 500 people crawling up and down the spiral staircase looking for kegs that weren't kicked yet, and caused the NYPD to show up at 4AM to kick everyone out.

Those are very rare though, and frankly not particularly enjoyable. I'd rather have fun with 20-30 friends and friends-of-friends in a warmer setting - or head out on the town with a posse.

MDT89 · 01-26-2007, 03:55 PM

Yea a kid i know there said that you need a fake ID. He bought one within 2 days of arriving.

columbia2007 · 01-26-2007, 04:40 PM

Many people do, but a surprising percentage (over 30% at least) don't get IDs, and either stick to campus parties, the ever-narrowing circle of don't-card bars, or don't drink at all.

According to this unscientific Spec poll, it's 66% with IDs and 44% without:
http://www.columbiaspectator.com/pol...ion_i d=20375

Shraf · 01-26-2007, 06:10 PM

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it's 66% with IDs and 44% without

that adds to 110%....its 56% and 44%.... i wouldnt really trust a spec poll though.

WindowShopping · 01-27-2007, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Those are very rare though, and frankly not particularly enjoyable. I'd rather have fun with 20-30 friends and friends-of-friends in a warmer setting - or head out on the town with a posse.

Man, I miss rolling with your crew.

And sorry about tonight. I totally missed that IM.

Columbia2002 · 01-27-2007, 03:24 AM

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and caused the NYPD to show up at 4AM to kick everyone out.

How'd CU Security let that happen? Does the NYPD even have jurisdiction over CU's campus?

Shraf · 01-27-2007, 11:04 AM

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Does the NYPD even have jurisdiction over CU's campus?

absolutely! CU security probably called them. Its not like columbia is its own city...do you think if there was a gunman on campus that security would take care of it? Once you go from breaking the rules to breaking the law the police will step in whether or not security likes it.

slipper1234 · 01-27-2007, 12:14 PM

Columbia isn't a school with a big party scene, its pretty fragmented. You don't have half the school out on weekend nights like at many of the other Ivies. There are a few reasons 1) NYC, upperclassmen tend to leave campus and 2) space: there just isn't room for the house parties that tend to make up a big part of life at other schools.

columbia2007 · 01-27-2007, 01:08 PM

Actually I think upperclassmen host about an even number of parties on weekend nights, especially because they tend to have living environments that better facilitate this (suites) than the Carman hallways (or especially Joh Jay). It is true, I think, that when upperclassmen go out, they'll probably be less limited to Morningside bars, having had 3+ years to get to know the city.

UriA702 · 01-31-2007, 05:17 PM

Agreed. The New York City area is notoriously multifarious. That definitely is a great part about being at CU.....there is always a ton to see and do in nyc/vicinity. you can always hop on the 1 or 9 trains and head to various parts of the city with tons of people to meet and things to do. The parties at CU may suck but theres plenty of ways to get wasted in NYC.