[liberationtech] Tragic News: Aaron Swartz commits suicide

[Joshua Cohen]

Reif is a very good person.

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 14, 2013, at 7:24 AM, Nadim Kobeissi <nadim at nadim.cc> wrote:

> 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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