<p>I am profoundly disturbed at the tone of some of the Columbia threads. Granted, I’m a dad, but I don’t see how the chilling effect of some of these posts can help the greater Columbia community. Remember, these are young, often confused, high school students who post largely to ask questions which, to them, are important. Is is not good for Columbia to appear to embrace, rather than reject, potential students? I know some of the respondents are not yet (nor may ever be) members of the community, but many appear to be students or alumni. What purpose is served by belittling arrogance? If you don’t think the tone has an effect on the discussion, I invite you to visit the discussions of some of Columbia’s rivals, where the discussion can be effective, yet civil. My son will be entering Columbia College next fall and I hope, with all my heart, the face-to-face discourse is more pleasant than the anonymous dialog seen on some of these threads.</p>