Overview

• Brown University launched an investigation into sophomore Alex Shieh following his project, Bloat@Brown, which scrutinizes administrative roles and spending at the university.
• Shieh emailed 3,805 non-faculty staff members asking them to describe their job tasks, sparking accusations of emotional distress, misrepresentation, and misuse of confidential data.
• Shieh denies accessing confidential information, asserting that his work relied solely on publicly available data to promote transparency in university spending.
• The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is advocating for Shieh, arguing that Brown's actions may infringe on his rights as a student journalist.
• The case has escalated with allegations of retaliation, including the hacking of Shieh’s website and the leaking of his Social Security number, further intensifying national attention.