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Abstract:

This study utilizes grounded theory to examine student organizing in a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community on a college campus. Through a Glaserian approach to grounded theory, this study identifies three key tensions that influence the formation and maintenance of community: Unity and Difference, Commitment and Apathy, and Empowerment and Disempowerment. These tensions co-exist within the community and produce challenges for organizing social change on campus. Ultimately, this essay argues that all three tensions may be endemic of community organizing, and potentially of organizing practices in general. Future directions for research in organizational communication and community formation are explored.

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Vol. 55 Issue 4, p499-514 16p