Community: An All-Encompassing Term

Community (n.): a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage (“Community”).

When I try to understand something, I look it up. In this case, the dictionary was used as a source. But, I cannot wholeheartedly agree with the definition. Firstly, can a community really be of any size? When I glance at a couple enacting in PDA, I immediately think, “Ew.” In context of community, I do not classify a couple as a group either. The dictionary consequently lists what a community’s members have in common:

1. Locality
2. Government
3. Heritage

I can quickly find a flaw to each point. A community does not necessarily need to be fixated in a certain area blocked off by certain boundaries. People can still be members of a community through electronics (i.e. cell phones, e-mail, Skype, et cetera) (Wellman and Gulia). The various localities of these members also affect the idea of government. Yes, a community may abide to similar rules, but not necessarily the same government. For example, everyone in the United States abides to the same national laws. However, state laws differ. Lastly, the United States is known as the “melting pot,” breaking the idea of one specific cultural background.

Georgia Tech is a prime example of community. Yes, the football players ("GT Football") to the partiers ("GT Party")to the computer nerds ("Nerd") are all interconnected in this little area in the midst of bustling Atlanta. How is that so? What makes Tech a community? Simply, all of us came here wanting something not at Georgia State, U(sic)GA, and/or MIT. We came to Georgia Tech for a reason, taking similar classes, and being part of the Tech college environment.

Although community is a difficult term to pin down, most people can identify it. I highly doubt anyone would disagree that Georgia Tech is a community.

Works Cited

Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, 2009. Web. 29 Aug. 2009.

"GT Football." Photo. blog.islandcasino.com. 29 Oct. 2007. 29 Aug. 2009. <blog.islandcasino.com>.

"GT Party." Photo. s.wsj.net. 20 May 2008. 29 Aug. 2009. .

"Nerd." Photo. andrewsteinhome.com. 2009. 29 Aug. 2009. .

Wellman, Barry, and Milenia Gulia.“Net-Surfers Don’t Ride Alone: Virtual Communities as Communities.” N/A. N/A. N/A. Print.