Ryan Day – Fall 2023
INTRODUCTION–
Fall 2023 WGS Intern
Ryan Day (he/him) is a University of Maine student double-majoring in Women’s Gender Studies and Philosophy. His studies began with an interest in media analysis, but quickly changed course as Philosophy opened the doorway to WGS, as a field so concerned with the mentality of individuals can only be enriched through further understandings and perspectives that Gender Studies provided him outside of his own lived experiences. Through the synthesis of these two subjects and the expanded understanding it afforded him, Ryan learned first-hand the plethora of applications, and the importance of said applications, in society, as to truly understand the mindsets and philosophies of others, one must understand their perspective. Ryan’s academic interests now lie in the thoughts and mentalities that arise in the wake of a constantly evolving social climate and the dynamics of power that influence them with a special focus on how these dynamics might color our approach to philosophy and the way in which it is taught, and how the current approach often biases towards men, and particularly white men. This focus has led him to a particular interest in philosophy regarding the dynamics of power and who holds it, and how this examination might be put to use outside the classroom. Outside of academics, Ryan has a deep fascination with storytelling and history, which has only deepened as his education in WGS has revealed new perspectives into society that go largely unnoticed by those who do not live through these injustices.
Starting this fall semester (2023), we are excited to offer a WGS internship on a semester-to-semester basis. Any student enrolled in our internship course, WGS 411, is eligible to apply!
If you are interested in learning more about this internship opportunity, contact WGS 411 professor, Dr. Katie Swacha at Kathryn.Swacha@maine.edu.
WRITE-UPS
The WGS Honors’ Society is Fundraising for the Homeless Displaced from Camp Hope
By Ryan Day
October 20th, 2023
Behind the Hope House Health and Living Center is where Bangor’s largest homeless encampment, Camp Hope (also known as Tent City), had established itself to shelter a large group of Bangor’s homeless population. On the day of writing, October 20th, 2023, city officials began a sweep to forcibly remove any occupants from the Camp premises that had “refused” outreach assistance. In an attempt to lessen the crisis for those involved, members of the University of Maine’s TRIOTA (the National Women’s Gender Studies Honors’ Society) have begun accepting donations on behalf of the Greater Bangor Houseless Collective to attempt to lessen the immense blow to those affected by this sweep and recoup lost possessions. To learn more about their efforts and the severity of the issue at hand, I spoke to the team of students accepting donations on behalf of TRIOTA.
It was through this conversation that I learned the suddenness of the situation, with Camp Hope’s residents only receiving a five day notice of the city’s intentions. This short time frame ensures chaos for these Camp residents, with many not even fully sure of who exactly is going to be affected due to a lack of thorough communication. According to Sawyer Loftus from the Bangor Daily News, “Some people said they thought the X’s meant they would be removed from the site; they even scraped them off their tents. Other people thought that if their belongings had X’s, it meant they could stay.” Their existence is to be uprooted with only paper notices posted on trees, not official bulletins or buildings, informing them of such, and with less than a week to prepare. With a lack of clean homes that abide by Title 8’s requirements, either because of the low number of available locations or because of landlord disinterest, there is no clear solution for these people forced from their community and possessions that will be assuredly lost in this chaotic exile will be near-impossible to replace without outside assistance.
Bangor has had a poor history with its homeless population, with the recent April sweep of Valley Avenue failing to properly rehouse all of its residents after promises to, and the 2021 sweep of the Interstate 395 bridge leading to the death of three homeless men in a fire (Loftus). According to Kathleen O’Brien, also writing for the Bangor Daily News, the city has offered storage space for those affected but is also threatening those who refuse to leave or were unable to in time with trespassing charges, adding to the chaos of the situation. As such, TRIOTA, on behalf of the Greater Bangor Houseless Collective, is doing all they can to support these displaced individuals, accepting donations of clothes, blankets, sanitary products, and other necessities in the Central Union today from 10am until 2pm. However, their fundraising efforts won’t end today. The students I spoke with informed me that a box for donations will still be available in the Central Union for the entirety of next week, and monetary donations through Venmo will be accepted as well during that period.
