1A in Action: Ron Sachs and His Historic Fight for Press Freedom on College Campuses

How far would you go to stand up for your First Amendment right to press freedom?

Ron Sachs tested that in 1971, when he was arrested and put on trial — all before he graduated college.

As editor in chief of The Florida Alligator, the University of Florida’s student newspaper, Sachs oversaw a staff covering campus and local news for the city of Gainesville and his fellow students. The staff was set to publish a list of abortion providers in the state in a 1971 issue — part of the paper’s “deep-rooted history of fighting for abortion rights.”

This was before the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade made abortion legal nationwide. A law student working on the paper advised Sachs that printing the list could be a felony under a 19th-century Florida law that made it a crime to publish ads or information about abortion services. The university president said The Alligator could not print the list, and the paper’s printer said it would refuse to do so if the edition included the list.

But Sachs and the newspaper staff thought the information was important for readers. The student body president paid to have the list copied on separate sheets of paper, which Alligator staff inserted into each copy of the newspaper. Sachs signed his name on the insert to let campus officials and police know he was responsible.

That kicked off a legal case that echoes today.

Editor's note: This profile is part of 1A in Action, an ongoing series that tells the stories of the people, groups and movements that bring the five First Amendment freedoms to life every day.

What was at stake:

Freedom of the press is one of the five freedoms protected by the First Amendment (along with religion, speech, assembly and petition). It means generally, the government, including public universities, can’t control what news outlets publish or demand that government officials review and approve stories ahead of time. (The First Amendment doesn’t apply to private companies, including private universities; those schools are free to set their own policies and rules.)

But there are exceptions to press freedom that the First Amendment doesn’t protect, like defamation, plagiarism and obscenity. The First Amendment also does not allow an individual to knowingly aid and abet illegal activity.

Student media outlets at public universities have editorial independence that allows staff to decide what to report and publish. Generally, just like public universities can’t tell students what to say or how to dress, the First Amendment protects public university student media outlets by ensuring they have press freedom, just like their professional counterparts do.

What happened:

Following The Alligator’s distribution of the list of abortion providers, Sachs was arrested and charged with a felony.

But Florida’s attorney general said the university president could not review and approve the content before publication, finding that use of “prior restraint” would violate the First Amendment.

The judge in Sachs’ case ruled that the state law prohibiting the newspaper from publishing such abortion-related information was unconstitutional and dismissed the charge.

That same judge also ruled Florida’s abortion law unconstitutional, and state lawmakers passed a new law that was less restrictive. A year later, the U.S. Supreme Court made abortion legal nationwide in Roe v. Wade, which the court later overturned in 2022.

In an Alligator editorial, Sachs explained the choice to print the list, writing, “[First Amendment] freedoms are as much the privilege of The Florida Alligator as they are the privilege of The New York Times. The readers have a right to read the facts.” The case, along with other controversial reporting and editorials, prompted the university and newspaper to distance themselves from each other, and in 1973, the paper officially separated all business and editorial ties, becoming The Independent Florida Alligator.

Sachs has since led a long career in journalism and media, serving as communications director for a Florida governor. He started his own public relations firm and led the National Hurricane Survival Initiative in 2006.

What Ron Sachs says:

“The impact of what we did forever changed the collegiate press in America, the First Amendment in Florida and abortion law.”

— Ron Sachs reflecting on the 50th anniversary of the publication

Why it matters to you:

The First Amendment’s protection for “the press” doesn’t only apply to people working at newspapers and similar established media outlets — at universities or otherwise. Press freedom applies to all forms of publication and distribution for established news outlets and independent online streamers alike.

That means if you’re a public university student, you can start your own email newsletter, social video commentary account, campus sports podcast or a traditional newspaper. Just as university officials generally can’t tell the official student newspaper what to publish (or review it ahead of time), they can’t tell you what to say on your own independent platform. That’s the First Amendment in action.

Ron Sachs’ university and Alligator legacy:

Sachs has preserved his roots at the university’s journalism school. He’s started multiple scholarships for students there, a school he once covered and fought with over press freedom.

Students who run The Alligator today continue covering the university independently. In 2024, UF’s president abruptly resigned, which sparked investigative reporting to break news about his spending and administration.

The paper’s work led Freedom Forum to present the 2025 Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in the Media to The Alligator staff.

Thoughts from a First Amendment expert:

“In 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that students and teachers do not ‘shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.’ Just a few years later, Sachs and the staff of The Florida Alligator showed what student journalists could do with those rights: on behalf of their readers, face arrest and challenge a state law that quickly was found to be unconstitutional.”

— Gene Policinski, senior fellow for the First Amendment, Freedom Forum

Learn more:

There’s a lot to learn about freedom of the press. And here’s much more about the First Amendment. For a list of First Amendment-related legal terms, check out this glossary.

Keep in touch:

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Scott A. Leadingham is a content writer at Freedom Forum. He can be reached at [email protected].