That Ant Colony You Always Wanted

First, one must define community. After all the discussions regarding “community”, I have concluded that a community must be composed of individuals that share common interests. However, a common interest is not the only condition, it can also consist of members that regularly interact with each other. Also, there must be communication between members of a community in order for a sense of unity to be created.

So is AU a community? Yes.

AU is a large community composed of smaller communities. For one, the people that live in residence halls, that’s a community. They share a common characteristic which is that they all live in a similar place. For example, the residents of Leonard Hall are a community because they all have a similar living area. Not only that, but they also have an open means of communication. Every day, they see each other either in their assigned hallways and say greet each other. Or they communicate through floor activities like floor dinners of meetings. Their common interest? Well, they are all interested in receiving an education from AU.

However, AU is not only composed of residence hall communities, it is also composed of educational and interest communities. The student body is divided into groups of similar educational focuses, whether that be SPA, SIS, CAS, or any other group, they have all become communities with a shared focus. There are also extracurricular groups where the student can choose which community to become part of. All these groups interact with each other throughout campus, therefore creating the greater community of AU.

If you were to look at AU, I guess we would look like a little ant colony (hence, my blog title). Everyone doing their job, but at the same time being part of a greater community.