Table of Contents
"A Bit of the Future Was Lost with the Tragic Death of Aaron Swartz"
![](/sites/default/files/styles/379x213/public/2013/01/Aaron_Swartz-feat.jpg?h=caeb18d4&itok=__gNrIar)
My latest op-ed for Forbes online is one that I wish I didn’t have to write. It’s about the recent suicide of Aaron Swartz, who co-created the RSS blog syndication specification when he was 14 (if you don’t know what that means, trust me: it means he was a prodigy) and later became instrumental in well-known online endeavors like Reddit and Creative Commons. In my op-ed, I explain how several of the issues that FIRE regularly deals with—namely, college overreactions to any challenge to the existing order—played a part in this tragedy. America can’t afford to lose any more geniuses to needless and heedless authoritarianism, on campus or beyond.
Recent Articles
FIRE’s award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.
![Black and white photo of the Stanford campus with a pie chart indicating polling or data](/sites/default/files/styles/334x250/public/2024/04/Judge%20Duncan%20Survey%20featured%20image%203.jpg?h=d1cb525d&itok=the7YD-J)
A third of Stanford students say using violence to silence speech can be acceptable
FIRE used polling data before and after the judge’s visit to map out how a high-profile heckler’s veto changed Stanford’s free speech climate.
![Stanford President Richard Saller teaching a class (left) and Provost Jennifer Martinez](/sites/default/files/styles/334x250/public/2024/04/Stanford%20President%20Richard%20Saller%20and%20Provost%20Jennifer%20Martinez-cropped.png?h=2acd63a2&itok=fK097vob)
Stanford president and provost cheer free expression in open letter to incoming class
The letter is a ringing embrace of the importance of free speech to the mission of a university.
![Black and white photo of the Stanford campus with a pie chart indicating polling or data](/sites/default/files/styles/334x250/public/2024/04/Judge%20Duncan%20Survey%20featured%20image%201.jpg?h=d1cb525d&itok=2CCVFKXE)
FIRE survey shows Judge Duncan shoutdown had ‘chilling effect’ on Stanford students
According to a new FIRE survey, conservative students self-censored more often after the shoutdown than before the shoutdown.
![USC Valedictorian Asna Tabassum wearing a red graduation cap](/sites/default/files/styles/334x250/public/2024/04/Asna%20Tabassum%20USC%20copy%20graduation.png?h=944fa554&itok=S9140BwA)
USC canceling valedictorian’s commencement speech looks like calculated censorship
The university’s move, citing vague ‘safety concerns’ appears designed to placate critics of the student’s Israel criticism.