<p>Out of curiosity, what kind of punishments are given to people caught smoking/drinking in Carman? Is it loss of housing because of the dry nature of the first year dorms?</p>
<p>It just seems to me that Columbia is much stricter about substance abuse than other schools I've visited and I'm wondering if the punishments are also following this pattern.</p>
<p>^not at all, Columbia traditionally has some of the laxest rules, they’re all sensible rules like no candles, no pets, no drugs. people in carman drink a lot and everyone knows that, RA sometimes see students drinking alcohol and pass a blind eye to it or say something like “that’s apple juice you got there right ;)”, unless you throw a loud, overflowing and very drunk party no-one bothers. If you are caught you’re written up and get a warning or see a residential head of some sort as a warning. It wouldn’t go on your official record, and it takes several offenses to get kicked out of housing, in practice nearly no-one ever has this happen to them, unless they’re extremely stupid or careless or rebellious. </p>
<p>smoking in dorms is more frowned upon, because the smoke spreads and it can be a fire hazard/smells bad. if you’re corridor reeks of smoke you’ll probably get caught, otherwise probably not. i think the same disciplinary action applies. In terms of disciplinary action, columbia really is one of the most lax places i’ve ever been to. </p>
<p>p.s. all students get their first ambulance (Columbia’s ambulance service) ride to the hospital free and no-one is necessarily informed of it, so if you get too smashed they give you a chance.</p>
<p>Definitely lax…</p>
<p>Agreed with the above posters. Nobody at Columbia (RAs, housing officials, administrators) care about people getting drunk or doing illegal **** unless it becomes news in the Spec that some kid overdosed and died.</p>
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<p>CAVA is ALWAYS free! You can send in your first ER bill from your first ambulance ride to health services and they’ll take care of it.</p>
<p>Oh, and the administration isn’t as lax as you guys think. An acquaintance of mine got a 2 year suspension and another a 1 year suspension for starting a (minor) fire during a party and my friend got kicked out of housing for throwing something out of a window into a building shaft at the same party. A friend of a friend of mine got kicked out of housing (and possibly suspended for a semester) for setting a kid’s nametag on fire while drunk. You just never hear about these things…but the administration at columbia is quite ruthless when u get on the wrong side of them.</p>
<p>Yes indeed, Columbia students typically aren’t as rebellious or rowdy as traditional college students. The university may frown upon actions such as those, but most likely have a vast understanding that 18 year olds will be 18 year olds, and since their school has some of the most accomplished students who are already busting their humps, a little breathing room wouldn’t hurt with stuff of this nature. </p>
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<p>I beg to differ. Those are some pretty stupid things to be doing, starting fires and throwing things out of windows can lead to potentially life threatening situations. I think everyone would agree, as long as you are not causing any trouble, and making sure that what you are not being a menace, and doing things in a responsible fashion, most will ignore it. Not to say someone may be a jerk and rat you out, but in that case you can always call them out to a battle to the death. No holds barred.</p>
<p>Setting things on fire is pretty extreme though…</p>
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<p>heh, i had a friend who did this in john jay, same result too</p>
<p>Yeah, they were big on stressing that you’re not allowed to throw things out of the windows. I believe the consequence was immediate loss of housing.</p>
<p>Yeah. Some things are common sense.</p>
<p>breaking rules without creating victims (i.e. alcohol/pot/general rowdyness) is generally forgiven quickly with slaps on the wrist. Doing things that hurt other people - like, you know, setting them on fire - is going to get ugly REAL fast. The one thing Columbia likes less than disgruntled alums is the NYPD intruding on their turf in any fashion. Never EVER give the NYPD a reason to come to campus, and CU will tend to take care of its own.</p>
<p>One thing that may seem like it’s in the first category (no-big-deals), but is actually in the second (serious stuff) is air conditioners. A few years ago someone had an A/C unit in McBain and it fell out of their window onto the sidewalk on 113th st, and landed a few feet away from a baby carriage. It was a big friggen deal, because obviously only luck prevented a dead baby (plus all the publicity about it - would’ve made the nightly news easy). So the university lawyers are BIG on no air conditioners, to the point where they run checks at the start of the year.</p>
<p>Other than that, don’t create victims or destroy property and you’re not going to get into serious trouble.</p>
<p>I thought the no-A/C thing was due to electricity/fire issues, not fear things falling out of the window. People stick humongous fans in their windows that could just as easily kill someone.</p>
<p>Denzera and UriA’s posts sum up this thread well.</p>
<p>I have that McBain thing on very good authority from both a current and former director of housing.</p>
<p>and i think a 50-lb metal A/C unit is a little more dangerous than a 10-lb plastic fan, even if it’s a big box fan.</p>
<p>i think that 10 lb fan could get you sued pretty bad if it fell on anything, no chance for the baby either way.</p>
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<p>Yeah.</p>
<p>This made me thought of:</p>
<p>[MythBusters</a> (season 1) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:O3fCJhkYZd4J:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_(season_1)+penny+dropped+from+empire+state+building&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&client=firefox-a]MythBusters”>http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:O3fCJhkYZd4J:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_(season_1)+penny+dropped+from+empire+state+building&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&client=firefox-a)</p>