<p>These are probably best answered by current students or alumni, but anybody that can give me any feedback at all, please feel free:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>I've heard about groups like "Baby Blue" on campus that reject anybody who is not a decided liberal (including moderates). Is this true and, if so, is that mentality pretty pervasive on campus? That is, is a moderate-conservative going to have trouble "fitting in," so to speak? I'd like to think that, in general, people respect each other's opinions, but perhaps that's not the case.</p></li>
<li><p>I remember reading something about a drug problem on campus (stuff like meth, etc.), moreso than at other schools of similar stature. Is that true?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Just some things I'm curious about. Thanks!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I've actually never heard of something like "Baby Blue," except maybe in a conversations about our school colors. Conservatives have no problem fitting in, because most discussions at Columbia aren't even about politics. Every Ivy League school (and almost every college in general) is predominantly liberal.</p></li>
<li><p>No one I know does any hard drugs. Maybe I'm being naive, but in my experience drugs like meth/coke/etc. are virtually nonexistent on campus.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Awesome, thanks a lot. I know things like these are often stretched far out of proportion. Case in point: people say that Columbia is in an awful part of town, but I found it surprisingly nice when I visited. Thank you for dispelling these rumors.</p>
<ul>
<li>I've never heard of "Baby Blue," and I wouldn't worry too much about some organization/group that nobody has heard of. Columbia is a liberal institution, as are most top universities. If you're taking any sort of technical class, it won't matter. If you're taking a liberal arts class, your professor will probably be a liberal but it doesn't matter as long as the professor is open-minded enough. At every school there will be a few "bad apples" -- professors who are ideologues, intolerant of other viewpoints, etc. -- but they are avoidable.</li>
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<p>As for the students, most people don't sit around taking politics all night, and plenty are pretty apathetic about politics. If you want to find friends that talk nonstop politics, you'll find that too. The thing about Columbia is that you can find basically any type of people to hang around.</p>
<p>I believe Columbia has the largest Young Republican chapter of any of the Ivies. In any case, I wouldn't worry about your politics there. Its traditional Western Civ curriculum attracts more conservative students, while its location in NYC attracts liberal ones.</p>