<p>Sup people...first of all CONGRATS to all the EDers that got in..im lookin forward to meetin up with everybody next year...</p>
<p>im comin from all the way in the south of africa and would just like for people to inform me and other international students what kinda preparation is needed for the big city life!!..cant wait to get to NY..</p>
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what kinda preparation is needed for the big city life!!
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<p>Fake IDs. No, I'm not kidding.</p>
<p>Don't listen to C2002, he's obviously still in HS. The last thing you want as an international student is to get arrested for having counterfeit documentation. It's very tempting but don't do it. The repercussions that come from getting into trouble with the law are not the same for US citizens as for immigrants.</p>
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[quote]
Don't listen to C2002, he's obviously still in HS. The last thing you want as an international student is to get arrested for having counterfeit documentation. It's very tempting but don't do it. The repercussions that come from getting into trouble with the law are not the same for US citizens as for immigrants.
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<p>I'm a '02 grad of Columbia. As you concede, it is very tempting. And, as such, many foreign students have fake IDs. Many foreign students at CU also engage in other behavior that is illegal, such as using illegal substances or drinking alcohol at <21.</p>
<p>He, of course, can do anything he wants. Just because other people do it, doesn't mean he should. I would be very careful. Let's say he has a fake id, goes to the store to buy alcohol and the bored store manager decides to call the police. He gets arrested and found guilty of a crime. Bye, bye... you've just been deported (the INS is obliged by law to start removal procedures if they find out you've been convicted of a crime). Even if the INS doesn't find out, that conviction will come up later if you try to get a Green Card or apply for citizenship.</p>
<p>It might not be very common, and I don't mean to scare anyone, but it only has to happen once. If you're going to drink, drink responsibly.</p>
<p>oh man, i hate using "lol" on boards but really the reply above me deserves it:</p>
<p>LOL</p>
<p>ok....anyways, all the liqour stores around columbia employ illegal mexicans/Guatemalans/other latinos. if you speak spanish you can make friends with them and they will give you a discount!! :D</p>
<p>but seriously, no one calls police on account of a fake id. now if you were to get arrested for something else and then they found that, then it's a different story....</p>
<p>and i suppose i can actually make a real reply to the original poster...</p>
<p>what part of S.A are you from? i was born in barberton (east transvaal) [about hour east of jo-berg]</p>
<p>if you've ever been to jo-berg or cape town you'll be fine. there's not much to really prepare with or for.</p>
<p>I don't care if you have a fake id or buy alcohol from the illegal latino (he just HAS to be illegal, right?) in the corner store. Or if any of your friends do. As long as you confine yourself to the West End, you're not likely to find any trouble. Life is about having fun, enjoy.</p>
<p>Do you think I pulled the above scenario out of thin air? Happened to someone I knew during his sophomore year in college. He's probably happily living his life in his home country having just finished paying back his parents for the money they spent during those two years.</p>
<p>Having a fake id is, for some reason, a tradition for most teenagers. Just be aware of the consequences. An arrest only has to happen once and happen to you.</p>
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While owning a fake ID counts as a misdemeanor, people who are arrested for having fake IDs are typically charged with two misdemeanors -- one for holding fake identification and the other for falsely impersonating another person -- and two misdemeanors amount to a felony.
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<p>Yes, you're right, no one gets arrested for using fake ids.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.hws.edu/news/update/showwebclip.asp?webclipid=151%5B/url%5D">http://www.hws.edu/news/update/showwebclip.asp?webclipid=151</a>
<a href="http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/u_police/weeklyreport/2006/101706_103006.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/u_police/weeklyreport/2006/101706_103006.htm</a>
<a href="http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO18784/%5B/url%5D">http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO18784/</a>
<a href="http://media.www.bcheights.com/media/storage/paper144/news/2001/09/25/News/Fake-Id.Users.Risk.Arrest.Penalties-99607.shtml?sourcedomain=www.bcheights.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com%5B/url%5D">http://media.www.bcheights.com/media/storage/paper144/news/2001/09/25/News/Fake-Id.Users.Risk.Arrest.Penalties-99607.shtml?sourcedomain=www.bcheights.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com</a>
<a href="http://www.dailyorange.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=238ecbd4-e261-4648-83a6-0f3ca5ab395a%5B/url%5D">http://www.dailyorange.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=238ecbd4-e261-4648-83a6-0f3ca5ab395a</a>
<a href="http://www.police.uga.edu/dailylog/DailyLog.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.police.uga.edu/dailylog/DailyLog.htm</a></p>
<p>wow, GS_Banding calm down!!!</p>
<p>its really silly when you have people just popping up out of the blue and claim they are the ultimate authority. </p>
<p>it is VERY hard to get alcohol or get into bars without an ID (fake or otherwise) around columbia. Recently there has been a major crackdown on underage drinking in that neighborhood (and in NYC in general) which of course takes away from the college experience if you are unprepared for it. Most bouncers will just not let you into their bar if you are carrying a fake ID and won't make much of a big deal about it....as for liquor stores, the one on 106th and broadway does not card (I absolutely do not condone underage drinking...i'm just saying....). As for Havana Central (the "West End")...they are now one of the most stringent bars when it comes to carding (after being raided and changing ownership)...so actually its the exact oposite of what GS_Banding was saying, if you dont want any trouble (or if your fake is bad) you should shy away from the West End.</p>
<p>
[quote]
While owning a fake ID counts as a misdemeanor, people who are arrested for having fake IDs are typically charged with two misdemeanors -- one for holding fake identification and the other for falsely impersonating another person -- and two misdemeanors amount to a felony.
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</p>
<p>Can you point me to a section of the NY Penal Law stating that two misdemeanors amounts to a felony? This strikes me as flat-out wrong, but I'm not sure.</p>
<p>Besides, most people with fake IDs aren't "falsely impersonating another person." They just have an ID that is a fake, not someone else's real ID. So there's only one misdemeanor at issue.</p>
<p>aww you didnt need to tell people about 106/bway shraf</p>
<p>Isn't this really supposed to let mpho know what he should bring? Take a look at the College Life Forum:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/forumdisplay.php?f=8%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/forumdisplay.php?f=8</a></p>
<p>the question is what kind of preparation is needed for city life, i answered that with the most truthful answer i could give.</p>
<p>shraf was talking about how hard it is to get alcohol underage around columbia. i was wondering, what IS the social life like at columbia. i got deferred and columbia is still my first choice, but i've heard that the social life isn't so great and i might reconsider actually attending columbia if i do get in and decide to go to an equally good school with a better social life. any comments?</p>
<p>hard to get alcohol??? i think you misunderstood him...</p>
<p>social life is what you make it to be. there's always a party if you look for it (although this year the frats got busted late september and still haven't really had any big parties since then)</p>
<p>Skraylor,</p>
<p>i am from Lesotho and i spent alot time in jo-burg and i have been to cape town a coupla times so mim pretty used to the place so if the difference between those and NY is not that huge then i guess i can cope...than.</p>
<p>Thanx alot for the link karot, i'l check it out.</p>
<p>and yeah, thanx to all u guys for the insightful advice on the life and the law - lol - goin out i think is part of college life and if the legal age to get into clubs and get drinks in the NY is 18 then i wont have a problem coz i'll be old enough when i get there in the fall...(sweeeet!!) and yah, agreeing to what skraylor said, i heard from more than a few ppl that you CAN find a party in columbia if u look for it so i dont think social life there is in any way 'not great'...</p>
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goin out i think is part of college life and if the legal age to get into clubs and get drinks in the NY is 18 then i wont have a problem coz i'll be old enough when i get there in the fall
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<p>the problem is the legal drinking age in america is 21! ...you can get into most clubs at 18 though, but you still need an ID so you'd probably have to carry your pasport around.</p>
<p>"but you still need an ID so you'd probably have to carry your pasport around." </p>
<p>probably wouldnt wanna walk around with a pasport now - haha- , but its aight im sure something can be worked out. sounds a bit like hong kong where im studyin at the moment ,with carding at clubs and everything, but its cool..if i can make a way here, probably wont have too much of a problem there :D</p>