Issuu

www.alligator.org

We Inform. You Decide.

MONDAY, JULY 21, 2025

VOLUME 119 - ISSUE 39 Not officially associated with the University of Florida

Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida

After Florida opens ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ activists worry Camp Blanding is next Demonstrators say DeSantis’ immigration agenda brings detention centers too close to home By Sara-James Ranta Alligator Staff Writer

Sydney Johnson // Alligator Staff

Counter protesters for the Stop Camp Blanding Protest raise a flag and sign while protesters chant and an organizer encourages others not to engage with them in Starke, Fla., on Saturday, July 19, 2025.

Constant changes to RTS bus schedule may disrupt access to health care

Health care workers weigh in on recent changes to bus system By Alanna Robbert Alligator Staff Writer

Summers in Gainesville are hot and humid. Sweat beads on the brow, and the heat feels heavy. Then there’s the high possibility of being caught in the torrential downpour of an afternoon thunderstorm. Anya Joshi, an 18-year-old UF biology sophomore, chose to spend her summer in Gainesville, where

SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT

Foster Grandparent Story description finish with comma, Alachua County program faces pg# budget cuts. Read more on pg. 5.

she does research with the Department of Pharmacogenomics. Her lab is located in the heel of campus within UF Health Shands Hospital. It’s a 20-minute walk from her apartment to Shands, Joshi said, but she saves time by taking the bus. “In the summer, I prefer taking the bus because it’s either really hot or really rainy, and there’s no inbetween,” Joshi said. “It’s not fun to walk 25 minutes with a backpack

when it’s 90 degrees outside.” Since she doesn’t have a car, Joshi said “it’s just harder” to get around Gainesville. She relies on the Gainesville Regional Transit System, which has fewer bus routes than it used to and isn’t always on time, she said. “I’ve had instances where I’m waiting on a bus and it doesn’t

SEE RTS, PAGE 4

Driving east on Florida State Road 16 in Starke, drivers come across a paradox. On the right stands a military training center for the National Guard. On the left is a sea of brightly colored cars and field tents. Crowds of people line the street holding signs, waving flags and shouting, “This is what democracy looks like.” Over 250 people gathered in the beating sun July 19 to protest what could become Florida’s next immigration detention center. Protesters gathered across a nearly mile-long stretch across the road from Camp Blanding Joint Training Center in a heat index near 105 degrees. “A prison without due process is a concentration camp,” some protesters’ signs read. “No ICEholes,” read others. Monica Martinez, a 25-yearold Jacksonville resident, is a member of Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance, one of the event’s main organizers. It took a month to plan, and around 15 organizations participated in solidarity, she said. In front of Camp Blanding’s main entrance, multiple field tents were set up for the protest. Volunteers wore neon vests as they distributed water bottles, popsicles, cooling towels,

The Avenue: 'Love Island'

Devoted fans reflect on its view of love, pg. 6

Gatorade and lollipops to attendees. Martinez said her organization’s main goal was to stand in solidarity with immigrants. “Legal status should not be a gateway to mistreating people and to put them in inhumane conditions,” Martinez said. Gov. Ron DeSantis hailed Florida as the nation’s lead in immigration enforcement. After partnering with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement in January through the 287(g) program, any trained Florida law enforcement officer can detain and interrogate individuals about their immigration status. As of May, Florida has more law enforcement officers acting as ICE agents than any other state in the country. Florida turned the DadeCollier training airport into the state’s first immigration detention center in June, officially named “Alligator Alcatraz.” The center, which took days to complete, began accepting detainees July 2. It’s expected to hold about 3,000 people and has a yearly operating price tag of $450 million. Martinez said Saturday’s protest wasn’t just about Camp Blanding’s potential but about Florida’s intense push toward

SEE CAMP BLANDING, PAGE 3

Miss Florida

How Gainesville’s Paris Richardson prepares for Miss America, pg. 7

(352) 376-1834

@FloridaAlligator

@TheAlligator_

@TheAlligator

@thefloridaalligator

4871 Celebration Pointe Ave #10 Gainesville, FL 32608