well if your project is about trust, shouldn 't i trust you before i
> take part in the project? Your email was rather scattered... from
> what i understand you're fundraising for something which must remain
> anonymous, but first you're "building community" to (perhaps) achieve
> this fundraising?

Here's how the first part of the project works.  I accumulate photos and testimonials from every person I know.  These signs get hung around campus with the intent of publicizing what I'm trying to do and to familiarize myself with people that I don't know.  From there, I'll be spending the next month selling scavenger hunt lists for a dollar.  The lists will have 15 posters listed on them and people can go around finding them on campus.  The first couple of people to turn them in each week will get gift certificates or merchandise I've gotten from various businesses I've solicited in Geneseo - businesses I have made part of my Geneseo community by repeated patronage.

> I'm not sure where we, your "friends" or people that you know, come
> in to play.  And frankly, I can't just have my identity up for grabs.
> I have a few people that i have to answer to and a few people that i
> have to represent, so i need to make sure this isn't something
> strange...

My Geneseo community comes into play in that they validate my assertion that I am a trustworthy and creative individual, capable of orchestrating such a project and worthy of support, financial or otherwise.  And the ‘otherwise’ will be necessary, as the second part of the project directly involves every student and faculty member at Geneseo.

> But moreover, i'm not sure that you really understand what
> "community" means.  It means a lot to me,
> and from what i know of you, i'm not sure it means the same thing.

A community is a collection of individuals brought together by a common thread.  These threads can include:

--Proximity to other individuals (the town of Geneseo).
--Common interest (Classic Rock fans, achieving a college education).
--The sharing of a common identity (Ex: the African-American community, the White community, the gay community, etc.). 

The final community type, identity, is an incidental one.  That is to say, there is no minimum effort level required to be apart of that community, though effort can be exerted to create strong communities around those characteristics.  The project does not really utilize this community type.

There are, however, minimum effort requirements to be a part of the other two communities.  If you own a house in the town of Geneseo, you must pay property taxes, which go to maintaining and enriching the Geneseo community, or you will be forced to leave the town.  To achieve a college degree, one thing you must do is maintain a minimum grade point average or you will not achieve your goal.  These are the minimal requirements and they bring with them only the minimal rewords, but we can see that participation can be included in the definition of these two community types. 

>From what i know, you don't volunteer, you're not
> active in the community, you didn't even vote. You didn't tell us
>(who you emailed) what community meant to you.           

            Let’s address each of these.  I don’t volunteer.  Well, I don’t volunteer at a local nursing home like I used to for two years in high school (how I consequently got my home job), no.  So while I do no volunteering in the formal sense of the word, I volunteer every day to help members of my Geneseo community.  I never turn down a request for help of any form unless there are extenuating circumstances preventing me from doing so.  While you can’t list that in order to win a scholarship, it’s just as much volunteer work as predetermined visiting hours are.  Why the concept of volunteering has been pigeonholed to very specific scenarios is another question for another day.

            I’m not active in the community.  I suppose this means interaction with my communities.  I think my sculpture projects from two semesters ago would indicate that I am very interested in interacting with the community when it comes to art.  If STD [The National English Honor Society] still even exists, I’m very interested in getting XXX and XXX to do those talks about their work, and am willing to work with them to make it happen.  I consistently go to events around campus that I’m interested or involve members of my Geneseo community.  This includes plays, musicals, jazz productions, sporting events, movies, dance ensembles, art shows, public readings, etc.  I came up for XXX’s show before school started, and I’m going to XXX’s this weekend.  Despite the fact that I have missed the last few of your performances, you neglect the fact that I have seen four of them and have missed several due to tickets being no longer available.

            I don’t vote.  Just because you have principles different from mine in regards to voting (which I am certain I have related to you before) doesn’t mean my opinions are invalid.  You can say I put in the minimal effort to this particular community if you want, even though I disagree, but I don’t see how it relates to this particular project.
           
            Finally, even if all your assertions were true, why should the fact that I’ve waited until now to start working with the community discount from the fact that I’m trying now?  If anything, that makes the first part of my project even more critical, as I don’t have a rapport with the community at large and need to build one.  So, if you have nothing to say about my interaction with community to this point, perhaps you have something to say about my character that would indicate what I have to offer to the community.

> So, basically, i would gladly help you if i knew your intentions were
> good. And if i feel that you really know what community means.

Okay.

> But i figured, with your billions of friends, you probably didn't
> need me to help you anyway, so i shouldn't bother to explain to you
> the information i'd like before participating.

Ad homonym attacks aside, you are a part of the community I’ve formed here and your contribution enhances the work, just as a refusal would diminish the work.

> If you need the help, let me know a whatever you can about the
> project. I'm not sure if you're sincere, or if you really are
> building community, if you even need to be sincere or not (eg- if you
> weren't sincere, but i felt the project really helped to build
> community, i would participate anyway).

I’m not sure what person in their right mind would take on this much of an additional and unnecessary workload in their last semester at college if they weren’t sincere. Also, I don’t know what additional information is necessary.

> but really, i applied to grad schools with "community development"
> programs. so this is more than just a buzzword to me, and i think
> anyone that had "community development" in mind would ask you a few
> more questions before they agreed to participate.

Other than what community means to me, I’m not entirely sure what questions you asked me that weren’t addressed on the initial email.  As it was, the email was a page and a half long, and I hit on everything I thought necessary for participation.  I’m sorry you disagree.
Also, there’s a difference between asking questions about an art project and this email, which was intentionally vituperative. 

> and you're the difficult one.

            I’m sorry you took the comment in the way that you did.  I guess I’ll be more careful in future emails to stay away from abrupt remarks that produce nowhere near the same effect when used in casual conversation.

>our last orchesis show is march 24th
> and 25th, if you care to see it.

            I’m not sure how to respond to this after receiving this email. 

Sincerely,

Mike Varley

P.S.  my brief reasoning for not voting:

Just consider this statement.  “I hate the current process with which America chooses it’s leaders, but I vote anyway.”  You’re just perpetuating what you disagree with.  Why would the people running for office care about what I thought about the process so long as I was participating in the process?  There’s not voting because no one matches your ideals exactly, and then there’s not voting because you feel the system is fundamentally flawed.  
            And as for doing something about it, no, I haven’t made the time to lobby for campaign finance reform yet.