[liberationtech] Tragic News: Aaron Swartz commits suicide

[Nadim Kobeissi]

It's worth nothing that Reif is new to being MIT President; most of
this happened under the reign of Susan Hockfield.

NK


On Sun, Jan 13, 2013 at 6:20 PM, Kate Krauss <katie at critpath.org> wrote:
> A note from the president of MIT:
>
> To the members of the MIT community:
>
> Yesterday we received the shocking and terrible news that on Friday in New
> York, Aaron Swartz, a gifted young man well known and admired by many in the
> MIT community, took his own life. With this tragedy, his family and his
> friends suffered an inexpressible loss, and we offer our most profound
> condolences. Even for those of us who did not know Aaron, the trail of his
> brief life shines with his brilliant creativity and idealism.
>
> Although Aaron had no formal affiliation with MIT, I am writing to you now
> because he was beloved by many members of our community and because MIT
> played a role in the legal struggles that began for him in 2011.
>
> I want to express very clearly that I and all of us at MIT are extremely
> saddened by the death of this promising young man who touched the lives of
> so many. It pains me to think that MIT played any role in a series of events
> that have ended in tragedy.
>
> I will not attempt to summarize here the complex events of the past two
> years. Now is a time for everyone involved to reflect on their actions, and
> that includes all of us at MIT. I have asked Professor Hal Abelson to lead a
> thorough analysis of MIT's involvement from the time that we first perceived
> unusual activity on our network in fall 2010 up to the present. I have asked
> that this analysis describe the options MIT had and the decisions MIT made,
> in order to understand and to learn from the actions MIT took. I will share
> the report with the MIT community when I receive it.
>
> I hope we will all reach out to those members of our community we know who
> may have been affected by Aaron's death. As always, MIT Medical is available
> to provide expert counseling, but there is no substitute for personal
> understanding and support.
>
> With sorrow and deep sympathy,
>
> L. Rafael Reif
>
> VIA
>
>
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