Uh? Solid Nomenclature.

I concur in finding this question slightly bizarre. What is the opposite or qualifying point to AU not being a community? Why would the university not be a collection, fellowship, grouping of people sharing common characteristics and purposes? There certainly don't appear to be any counter arguments.

While it is important to evaluate the meanings of certain terms to us, and perhaps analyze their usage in our world, I really don't feel like there is much in nitpicking the definition of a community and dwelling on how AU fits the term.

If AU is not a community, what are we saying that it is? A learning institution with student groupings and cliques not comprising a comprehensive whole? But they do!

Whether AU contains smaller communities, or is situated within a large community, all depends on point of outsider perspective. Equally as a foreigner, who, albeit being a physical member of his community in a town in Illinois, for example, is also a member of the emigrant group of his homeland within the new country (e.g. Polonia community in Chicagoland). Yet, this emigrant group is not limited to a certain region (Chicagoland) - it spreads cross-country (whole of United States). Polonia community leaders and quarters are scattered across the nation, but they do agree on collectivity and similarities and attempt to cooperate together. Thus, Polonia leaders from Florida give scholarships to Polonia kids in Illinois. On a much less tangible level, the Polonia community across the world communicates and connects via forums and chat rooms for support and information exchange.

In this light, AU, while a community formed of smaller groups in itself (as past posters have mentioned), AU belongs to the larger community of D.C. universities which include GU, GW, Catholic, etc. In the next hierarchical level, it belongs to the Eastern US universities. And, in light of a global scale, AU's community are the unis cross-country.

Geography appears pertinent, which is a curious discovery.