Tara Sweeney

Senior Program Officer

Tara Sweeney was born and raised in Philadelphia. She graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Colby College in Waterville, Maine, where she earned a B.A. in history. She then studied religious and intellectual history at Harvard Divinity School, where she earned a master of theological studies degree. Tara’s interests include Continental philosophy and biking.

Contributions to The Torch

"IUSB – Still Much at Stake," Tara Sweeney, September 28, 2007
"IUSB Vindicates Student in ‘Vagina Monologues’ Case; Concerns Remain," Tara Sweeney, September 20, 2007
"Libel Threat Throws CUNY Prof’s Press Freedom into Jeopardy," Tara Sweeney, September 17, 2007
"FIRE Remembers September 11," Tara Sweeney, September 11, 2007
"Professor Jack Gorby on ‘Academic Freedom or Poor Judgment’," Tara Sweeney, September 6, 2007
"Texas Seminaries Escape State Authority," Tara Sweeney, September 5, 2007
"Progress for Freedom of Speech at Tufts," Tara Sweeney, August 29, 2007
"Associated Press Story on Gettysburg’s Revamped Policy," Tara Sweeney, August 23, 2007
"Sociologists Examine Academic Freedom," Tara Sweeney, August 16, 2007
"Volokh on FIRE’s Speech Code of the Month: University of Iowa," Tara Sweeney, August 10, 2007
"Academic Freedom or Poor Judgment?," Tara Sweeney, August 7, 2007
"This Month in FIRE History: Victory for Professor’s Rights at SUNY Fredonia," Tara Sweeney, August 6, 2007
"FIRE Writes to Tufts Again About Erroneous ‘Harassment’ Finding," Tara Sweeney, July 31, 2007
"NY Times Mag Asks Students to Answer the Question, ‘What’s the Matter with College?’," Tara Sweeney, July 20, 2007
"Ashland University: No Objectivists Need Apply," Tara Sweeney, July 12, 2007
"‘Chronicle’ Article Discusses Disputed Implications of ‘Rosenberger’ Decision," Tara Sweeney, July 6, 2007
"Central Connecticut State Responds to Offensive Newspaper Article," Tara Sweeney, June 29, 2007
"Dust Settling on Kehowski Case," Tara Sweeney, June 26, 2007
"Student Suing Penn State for Art Censorship," Tara Sweeney, June 21, 2007
"Many Schools Drop Out of ‘U.S. News and World Report’ Ranking System," Tara Sweeney, June 20, 2007
"Newspaper Adviser Vindicated at Ocean County College," Tara Sweeney, June 19, 2007
"ACLU Writes Letter to Tufts in Defense of ‘The Primary Source’," Tara Sweeney, June 12, 2007
"Glendale Prof Still Standing By," Tara Sweeney, June 7, 2007
"Student Press Law Center and Howard Ziff on Tufts," Tara Sweeney, June 6, 2007
"Silverglate Defends Parody on Campus in ‘The Phoenix’," Tara Sweeney, May 17, 2007
"FIRE Case at Glendale Community College on ‘Hannity and Colmes’ Tonight," Tara Sweeney, May 8, 2007
"Arizona Professor Faces Termination for E-Mailing George Washington's Thanksgiving Address," Tara Sweeney, May 7, 2007
"Students Await Tufts’ Ruling on Satirical Articles," Tara Sweeney, May 1, 2007
"Tufts University Puts Newspaper on Trial for Satire," Tara Sweeney, April 30, 2007
"Victory for Free Expression at the University of Rhode Island," Tara Sweeney, April 26, 2007
"Despite Widespread Opposition, the URI Student Senate Defends its Position," Tara Sweeney, April 24, 2007
"URI Student Senate Committee Votes to Derecognize College Republicans," Tara Sweeney, April 18, 2007
"University of Rhode Island President Forbids Student Senate from Imposing Unconstitutional Sanctions," Tara Sweeney, April 12, 2007
"Cathy Young on SFSU and Censorship Masquerading as ‘Tolerance’," Tara Sweeney, April 10, 2007
"Pace Not a Bastion of Free Expression for Christian Group," Tara Sweeney, April 6, 2007
"Central Michigan University Grants Students Full Freedom of Association," Tara Sweeney, April 3, 2007
"Victory for Open Expression at UCLA, but Questions about New Policy Remain," Tara Sweeney, March 29, 2007
"‘Obsession’ Screening at Michigan State to Proceed," Tara Sweeney, March 22, 2007
"Victory at SFSU," Tara Sweeney, March 20, 2007
"‘Bong Hits 4 Jesus’ in ‘The New York Times’," Tara Sweeney, March 19, 2007
"SFSU Stands By Its Actions," Tara Sweeney, March 15, 2007
"Christian Group Still Waiting for Word from Pace," Tara Sweeney, March 12, 2007
"SFSU in ‘National Review Online’," Tara Sweeney, March 8, 2007
"FIRE’s Shibley Speaks at Clemson," Tara Sweeney, March 2, 2007
"Victory for Free Speech at Bellevue Community College: College Drops Punishment of Professor for Politically Incorrect Math Question," Tara Sweeney, February 27, 2007
"‘The New York Times’ Looks at Middle East Controversies on Campus," Tara Sweeney, February 26, 2007
"Hampton University Says 'No' to Gay and Lesbian Student Group," Tara Sweeney, February 22, 2007
"FIRE President to Address Free Speech at Columbia on Tuesday Night," Tara Sweeney, February 19, 2007
"Illinois Retires Chief Illiniwek," Tara Sweeney, February 16, 2007
"UCLA Fears Protest, Shuts Down Immigration Debate," Tara Sweeney, February 13, 2007
"Pace Student Group Still in Jeopardy: Administration Finds CLSA’s Constitution Contentious," Tara Sweeney, February 12, 2007
"SFSU Investigates Flag-Stomping Protestors," Tara Sweeney, February 8, 2007
"FIRE Editorial on MSU in ‘The Detroit News’," Tara Sweeney, February 7, 2007
"Finding Insight in Unlikely Places," Tara Sweeney, January 31, 2007
"Pace Law School Dean Intervenes in Christian Organization Case," Tara Sweeney, January 30, 2007
"DEVELOPING STORY AT PACE LAW SCHOOL: Christian Student Organization Denied Recognition, Dean Weighs In," Tara Sweeney, January 29, 2007
"ACLU Urges UCF to Abandon ‘Free Speech Zones’," Tara Sweeney, January 29, 2007
"‘Bullets and Bubbly’ Party Draws Controversy at UConn," Tara Sweeney, January 25, 2007
"Tufts Reacts to Christmas Carol Controversy," Tara Sweeney, January 22, 2007
"Klocek Returns to DePaul," Tara Sweeney, January 17, 2007
"Looking for a Straight Answer from Marquette University," Tara Sweeney, January 15, 2007
"Johns Hopkins Resolves Facebook Case; Becomes FIRE’s First-Ever ‘Censor of the Year’," Tara Sweeney, January 8, 2007
"Columbia to Punish Violent Protestors," Tara Sweeney, January 4, 2007
"Happy Holidays from FIRE," Tara Sweeney, December 22, 2006
"Bellevue Community College Professor Still Waiting for Justice," Tara Sweeney, December 21, 2006
"Hopkins President Brody: Civility Trumps Free Speech," Tara Sweeney, December 12, 2006
"Johns Hopkins’ Unique Interpretation of ‘Free Speech’," Tara Sweeney, December 11, 2006
"RUF Initiates Re-affiliation Process at Brown," Tara Sweeney, December 4, 2006
"Expression, Not Harassment, at Hopkins," Tara Sweeney, December 1, 2006
"Victory at Clemson University," Tara Sweeney, November 29, 2006
"Brown University Takes Step Toward Lifting Suspension, But Problems Remain," Tara Sweeney, November 21, 2006
"Mystery Shrouds Brown’s Suspension of Religious Student Organization," Tara Sweeney, November 16, 2006
"Newspaper Theft at Several Schools," Tara Sweeney, November 9, 2006
"A Student's Perspective on the Ground at Johns Hopkins," Tara Sweeney, November 8, 2006
"Election Day on Campus," Tara Sweeney, November 7, 2006
"Count Gutmann Among the Offended," Tara Sweeney, November 3, 2006
"Un-PC Halloween Costumes Cut Both Ways," Tara Sweeney, November 3, 2006
"Lafayette President Apologizes for Canceling Visit by Lynn Swann," Tara Sweeney, November 1, 2006
"Hopkins Busts ‘Halloween in the Hood’," Tara Sweeney, October 31, 2006
"A Belated Response from Marquette," Tara Sweeney, October 24, 2006
"Dave Barry Quote Sparks Dispute at Marquette University," Tara Sweeney, October 18, 2006
"Columbia, Social Justice, and the Importance of Dissent," Tara Sweeney, October 17, 2006
"New York Civil Rights Coalition Joins FIRE’s Opposition to Thought Reform at Teachers College," Tara Sweeney, October 12, 2006
"Columbia Students Interrupt Conservative Speech with Chaotic Protest," Tara Sweeney, October 5, 2006
"Bellevue Community College Named Leader in Diversity," Tara Sweeney, September 27, 2006
"The Retreat of the Public Intellectual," Tara Sweeney, September 22, 2006
"No Benefit of the Doubt for Ratener," Tara Sweeney, September 15, 2006
"Ratener’s Situation Not So Novel," Tara Sweeney, September 14, 2006
"Professor Suspended for Condoleezza Math Problem," Tara Sweeney, September 13, 2006
"NYU Denies Any Wrongdoing," Tara Sweeney, August 25, 2006
"This Just In: SUNY Fredonia President Hearts Free Speech," Tara Sweeney, August 17, 2006
"End to Racial Restrictions for Orientation Courses at Marshall University," Tara Sweeney, August 9, 2006
"UW-Madison Seeks to Limit Professor’s Expression of Controversial Opinions," Tara Sweeney, August 9, 2006
"Media Frenzy Over SUNY Fredonia," Tara Sweeney, August 1, 2006
"FIRE Reminds NYU That Suppression of Speech Won’t Fly," Tara Sweeney, July 31, 2006
"FIRE Continues to Protest Injustice at CIIS," Tara Sweeney, July 21, 2006
"Mallard Fillmore’s onto Something," Tara Sweeney, June 21, 2006
"Johns Hopkins University Denies Students Freedom of the Press," Tara Sweeney, June 13, 2006
"MySpace Has Administrators in a Frenzy," Tara Sweeney, June 12, 2006
"Professor Under ‘Investigation’ at California Institute of Integral Studies," Tara Sweeney, June 1, 2006
"Internet Expression in Jeopardy: MySpace Users Beware," Tara Sweeney, May 24, 2006
"Le Moyne’s Spin," Tara Sweeney, May 16, 2006
"Brooklyn Parks Department Censors Student Art Exhibit," Tara Sweeney, May 9, 2006
"Brandeis Takes a Stab at Art Censorship," Tara Sweeney, May 3, 2006
"Minnesota Sees Resurgence of Outrage Over Mohammed Cartoons," Tara Sweeney, April 14, 2006
"NYU’s Deceitful Spin," Tara Sweeney, April 3, 2006
"UNCG Reforms Free Speech Policies," Tara Sweeney, March 21, 2006
"Avoiding Controversy at Century College," Tara Sweeney, March 16, 2006
"Proposed Calif. Bills Address Student Press Freedom," Tara Sweeney, March 16, 2006
"Bible Studies: Not So Bad After All," Tara Sweeney, March 14, 2006
"Victory for Censorship at Century College," Tara Sweeney, March 9, 2006
"Victory for Internet Expression at UCF," Tara Sweeney, March 6, 2006
"Student Press in Jeopardy with ‘Hosty’," Tara Sweeney, March 3, 2006
"Mohammed Cartoon Controversy Part II: Free Speech and the ‘Direct Assault’," Tara Sweeney, February 27, 2006
"FIRE Weighs In on Mohammed Cartoon Controversy," Tara Sweeney, February 23, 2006
"DePaul Students Acquitted of Harassment Charges," Tara Sweeney, February 20, 2006
"Free Speech Suffers a Near-Miss at LSU," Tara Sweeney, February 9, 2006
"Clarification on PBK’s Double Standard," Tara Sweeney, February 3, 2006
"DePaul’s Sordid Legacy Continues," Tara Sweeney, January 30, 2006
"Phi Beta Kappa Should Prove Its Commitment to Free Speech: Part 2," Tara Sweeney, January 30, 2006
"New President Spells Hope for Cornell," Tara Sweeney, January 23, 2006
"Phi Beta Kappa Should Prove Its Commitment to Free Speech: Part 1," Tara Sweeney, January 23, 2006
"Court Strikes Down Unjust Expulsion," Tara Sweeney, January 20, 2006
"Cuius Regio, Eius Religio," Tara Sweeney, January 16, 2006
"Hampton’s at It Again," Tara Sweeney, January 10, 2006
"FIRE Advises UW System to Heed the Constitution," Tara Sweeney, January 9, 2006
"Administrative Abuses Live On," Tara Sweeney, December 30, 2005
"Wendy McElroy Lauds FIRE," Tara Sweeney, December 21, 2005
"California State System Sticks It To Religious Groups," Tara Sweeney, December 19, 2005
"Hampton Doesn’t Go Far Enough," Tara Sweeney, December 6, 2005
"The Moment of Truth at Hampton University," Tara Sweeney, December 1, 2005
"Policies Actually Matter; Don’t Be Deceived," Tara Sweeney, November 17, 2005
"Dropping the F-Bomb," Tara Sweeney, November 15, 2005