Category Archives: 2024 Articles

By Alex Leader and Beth H., National Women’s Liberation, Gainesville

Thank you for helping to put abortion rights on the ballot, Alachua County!

The following organizations and individuals are being recognized to celebrate their leadership, but also to encourage Iguana readers to join up with these organizations in the fight that still lies ahead to place protection for abortion rights in Florida on the November 2024 ballot through a voter ballot initiative. If successful, this voter initiative will win a state constitutional amendment to protect and expand abortion rights. 

How a once-powerful UF leadership honorary society resorted to extracting $1,000,000+ in tuition money

By Rey Arcenas

It is an open secret that Florida Blue Key controls the student government of the University of Florida. Over the course of their one hundred year grip on power, they’ve been associated with petty corruption scandals such as throwing out thousands of copies of newspapers with negative headlines, slashing tires, and pouring sugar in their opponents’ gas tanks. Nevertheless, Florida Blue Key celebrates a long list of influential politicians that stretches decades across political lines: Spessard Holland, Fuller Warren, Bob Graham, Lawton Chiles, Buddy MacKay, and Adam Putnam among others. 

by the Gainesville pod of Jewish Voice for Peace, Gainesville Radical Reproductive Rights Network, and the Gainesville pre-branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation

The tragic events of Oct. 7 brought international attention to the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. Israel’s war has spurred mass movement for Palestinian self-determination, in Gainesville and around the world.

Since October, Gainesville communities have organized over 20 events in solidarity with Palestine, sponsored by local organizations including the University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, Gainesville Solidarity Network, both the UF and newly formed Gainesville pods of Jewish Voice for Peace, Veterans for Peace, Gainesville Radical Reproductive Rights Network, UF Central American Latin Organization, and the Gainesville pre-branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

The January/February issue of the Iguana is now available, and you can access it here! If you want to get your hands on a hard copy, check out our distro locations here.

This article was written by Gainesville-based reproductive rights activists working on the abortion petition initiative.

Floridians Protecting Freedom (FPF), the sponsor of the Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion has submitted almost 1.5 million petitions to Florida Supervisors of Elections. At the time of writing, more than 911,619 petitions have been verified statewide, and 17 Congressional districts have met the required total of verified petitions equaling 8% the number of votes cast in the 2020 presidential election. That means we’ve cleared the biggest hurdle to put a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights on the ballot in Florida in 2024! Now we need your help to get over the finish line!

2023 Roundup: 13 must-read Florida stories
Journalists salute their hard-working peers who told the critical stories of the past year
by the Marjorie Team | The Marjorie | Dec. 20 | tinyurl.com/Iguana1788

A ‘major win’ for PEN America, publishers, and parents in book ban lawsuit
Lawsuit challenging school’s removal of books heading to jury trial.
by Jennie McKeon | WUWF | Jan. 10 | tinyurl.com/Iguana1779

As migrants flee, Florida GOP pushes to ease child labor laws to deal with shortage of workers
If Republicans have their way, 16- and 17-year-olds may soon be working the overnight shift at McDonald’s
by Charles Jay | Daily Kos | Dec. 18 | tinyurl.com/Iguana1780