The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 36, No. 2 - 47

A Design for an Intentional Democratic Community

As a “home base” they serve initially to meet security needs, then as acceptance and trust heightens, as a source of selfauthentication in which one is able to get an accurate picture of self through feedback, and as a source of development by behavioral experimentation in a climate where risk-taking is permitted . . .

veloped by floors or floor sections, and particularly so when self-selected (although there are dangers to which the exclusivity factor in selfselection may mitigate against commitment to the total community). One participant reported success in random selection of primary groups comprised of individuals scattered throughout the residence hall. Such groups facilitated awareness of the total community and avoided the “provincialism” of floor or section groups.

Shared Goals and Values
Goals are ends toward which a group mobilizes and directs its energies. An example of a shared goal would be to create and build an IDC that works successfully by the end of one academic year. Specific subgoals would be aimed at criteria of success. Member goals may differ from each other as long as they are symbiotic with the shared community goals. Examples are: to learn what goes into the creation of an IDC, to become an effective leader, to discover the meaning of sense of community, or to experience and understand the meaning and value of commitment. Values are shared beliefs about the nature of things, of the good, bad, beautiful. Individual values may vary greatly as long as they do not create conflict with the shared values of the community.

the individual moves toward actualization in the larger community. Unless the IDC is itself small enough to be the primary group (smaller than about thirty to forty members) its initial size is likely to pose enough threat to some members during the early stages of building the community that smaller primary groups are needed within the community. As a “home base” they serve initially to meet security needs, then as acceptance and trust heightens, as a source of self-authentication in which one is able to get an accurate picture of self through feedback, and as a source of development by behavioral experimentation in a climate where risk-taking is permitted until such time as the community as a whole, depending on the situation, achieves the characteristics of a super primary group at one time or as a host within which several primary groups cluster at other times. Successful primary groups have been de-

Boundaries
The community develops a system of physical, emotional, social, and political boundaries that are supportive of its goals and values. Included are norms, standards, and expectations of members—encouraging those actions or behaviors that contribute to the well-being, growth, and development of the community and its members and which also promote harmony and cooperation with external society,

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 36, No. 2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 36, No. 2