Penn Laws Amy Wax Doubles Down On Racist Comments, Says She Won’t Quit Without A Fight

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Credit: Sukhmani Kaur, Jesse Zhang

Penn Law Full Professor Amy Wax reiterated her racist remarks against Asians and Black Americans, in retaliation for the University’s recent decision to initiate sanctions against her.

Wax, who has worked at Penn for two decades, spoke out against the current state of higher education and the conservative political movement in the United States. This is not the first time Wax has made headlines for discriminatory rhetoric, as his anti-Asian remarks earlier this month sparked an online firestorm and strong backlash from the academic community and local politicians.

“Given the realities of different crime rates, different average IQs, people have to accept without excuse that black people won’t be evenly distributed across all occupations. They just aren’t, and that’s not not a problem. It’s not because of racism,” Wax said in an interview with Concordia University professor Gad Saad on Jan. 24, referring to Charles Murray.

“Groups have different levels of ability, demonstrated ability, different skills,” Wax said erroneously. “Conservatives are afraid to say that and point fingers at particular groups, particular data.”

The interview follows Penn Law Dean Ted Rugers’ initiation of a formal faculty review to investigate and determine whether Wax’s public conduct impacted his classroom teaching. Ruger wrote in the January 18 announcement that Wax’s conduct has led to multiple complaints from members of the university community since at least 2017, who have cited Wax’s comments as a cumulative and growing promotion of white supremacy.

But Wax told Saad she was the only person left at Penn on her faculty that her students could talk to and ask for advice. She said she did not want to give the University the satisfaction of her resignation.

My case is at a certain level and does not concern me. I’m just a traffic accident, I’m a victim of the culture wars, Wax told Saad, whose YouTube channel has more than 230,000 subscribers. What I see being said and done to me is truly alarming. It is a total repudiation of the very concept of academic freedom.

During the interview with Saad, Wax called the curriculum at Penn Law and other law schools propagated by supervisors and political interests of diversity, equity and inclusion, which she says undermined her own students’ knowledge of conservative thought and legal concepts. year.

I have seen my students change even in 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. They have become these intimidated and blinded sheep. It’s just amazing, Wax said of her Penn law students. So not only are they completely intimidated as they should be, but they are ignorant.

In 2019, Ruger established the Office of Inclusion and Engagement at Penn Law and announced several new initiatives to increase diversity and inclusion at law school, including the formation of an Advisory Council of students, an alumni advisory council, and a new associate dean for inclusion. and engagement.

Rugers’ decision to initiate the sanctions process against Wax follows a petition, created by third-year Penn Law student Apratim Vidyarthi and other law students, calling for Waxs’ suspension and policy reform. tenure of the University. The petition, which has since garnered more than 2,500 signatures, was sparked by Wax’s recent assertion that “the United States is better off with fewer Asians and less Asian immigration.”

Wax is teaching two courses this semester, LAW 672: “Remedies” and LAW 956: “Conservative Political and Legal Thought.” LAW 956 is the only course Penn Law currently offers on conservative legal thinking, Vidyarthi previously told the DP.

University spokesperson Stephen MacCarthy and Penn Law spokeswoman Rebecca Anderson both wrote to the Daily Pennsylvanian that they would withhold public comment on the controversy until the end of the review process. Wax by faculty, in accordance with university policy.

Under Penns procedure governing faculty disciplinary action, the Faculty Senate, which serves as the representative voice for full-time faculty, will create a five-person board that will hear both charges and defense. and vote on the implementation of sanctions. . If that board finds Wax guilty of violating the university’s standards of behavior, Wax potentially faces major or minor penalties, ranging from suspension to a letter of reprimand.

The Philadelphia City Council also recently criticized Wax for the claims and urged Penn to review his role at the university.

On the other hand, the Academic Freedom Alliance sent a January 18 letter to Penn President Amy Gutmann saying that Wax should not face formal consequences for her controversial comments. Princeton University professor Keith Whittington, who chairs the AFA’s academic committee, told the DP he finds it troubling that Penn has responded to pressure from students and lawmakers by invoking the formal sanctions process. against Wax.

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Comments on waxes have been controversial for many years. In 2018, Ruger banned Wax from teaching required freshman law classes after she was criticized for saying she had never seen a graduate student from Black Penn Law in the top quarter of their class, which which Ruger called fake.

A petition launched three years ago calling on Ruger to fire Wax has now received more than 76,000 signatures.

They tried to fire me for years and they’re still trying. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction, Wax told Saad during the interview. I come from a barely middle class family, and for me to have worked so hard, to earn the money that I earn and to have the position that I hold and things like library privileges which seem silly, but it means a lot to me, I’m not going to give this up without a fight. And it’s just nuts and bolts, you know, I’ve worked too hard to get where I am. Why would I give it up?

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