Last week, George Mason University students celebrated their time in Exeter College, Oxford, with a closing dinner that mirrored the opening one (“The Harry Potter Experience,” July 8.) There was, however, one huge difference: The Exeter summer program had, in three short weeks, produced a community of scholars and friends, linking Oxford tutors, administrators, students and faculty advisers.

The mood was more wistful and the decibel level higher than during our first dinner. The light still glowed on the elaborate table settings and old mahogany paneling, but we had bonded the way few semester classes bond back home. As the 23 of us (21 students and two teachers) made the rounds, saying goodbye and wishing one another a safe return, I wondered: How did we create a community in so little time? How could our schools at home replicate, in part, that magical unity?