Despite being heavily criticized for her controversial public declarations and arguments, Professor Amy Wax still holds a position at Penn Law. Wax has previously garnered attention for her problematic ruminations about the superiority of white culture and the academic performance of African-American students, which she backed with misused citations and negligible evidence, notably referencing dubious Wikipedia entries.
Such inappropriate conduct and biased perceptions have urged the school to initiate a formal process for her dismissal. In response, Wax has fought back by founding a legal defense fund, though the compliance of this fund with federal tax law has been doubted.
Further stirring the controversy pot, Wax invited a recognized white supremacist, Jared Taylor, to the campus last year, and repeated the invitation this year. This has bred significant discontent within the Penn Law community, leading to protests against turning the institution into a whitewashing agent for white nationalism.
One of Wax’s 3L students, however, penned a letter to the Penn Law administration voicing his disgruntlement with the strong stance against Wax and Taylor. He criticized fellow students for disrespecting civil discourse, manifested in his view by boos and hisses aimed at conservative speakers or participants.
Moreover, the student lamented that the law school administration’s refusal to maintain a neutral attitude towards controversial viewpoints has resulted in conservative students feeling discouraged from freely expressing their own beliefs. The student expressed concern that unfavorable opinions about new-age conceptions of white supremacy and systemic racial inequalities might face harsh criticism and receive little tolerance.
He also alleged that the administration was largely partial, supposing that if progressive viewpoints were met with similar negative reactions, the culprits would face punishment for harassment. He takes the dean’s denunciation of Wax’s claims about Black students’ academic performance as the abandonment of administrative duty.
In conclusion, the student claimed that such discriminatory practices pose a considerable challenge to the concept of open dialogue and critical thinking on campus.
For further reading, links to background and related material are included:T14 Law Professor Invites White Supremacist To Campus And You’ll Never… OK, It Was Amy Wax
If You’re Just Finding Out Amy Wax Invited A White Supremacist To Her Class, There’s So, So Much More!
The Amy Wax Case Has Nothing To Do With Academic Freedom
The full letter from the student is publicly available on his YouTube channel.