Actions mount against academic's racist views

A professor at an elite US university is back in the spotlight as a formal sanction process into her racist speech and conduct against Asian and other minority groups has begun.

Amy Wax, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, has drawn strong criticism from students, alumni, faculty and university leaders for years over her demeaning remarks and discrimination against nonwhite people, immigrants and gay people.

Despite repeated calls for her removal from her tenured position, Wax remains in the position under the protection of "free speech" and "academic freedom".

Theodore W. Ruger, dean of the law school, wrote a letter in June to the chair of the faculty senate, requesting a full review of Wax's conduct and to "ultimately impose a major sanction against her". A major sanction, according to the university's faculty handbook, can lead to termination or suspension.

The 12-page letter is the latest step in a review process that Ruger initiated in January after Wax said the United States "would be better off with fewer Asians and less Asian immigration".

Following those remarks, a law school student launched a petition in January, calling for the Philadelphia university to suspend Wax. The petition has garnered nearly 2,600 signatures.

Another petition calling for Wax's termination, which was launched in 2017 following her racist remarks against black students, has received more than 85,000 signatures.

Ruger said in his letter that Wax has repeatedly violated the university's policies for faculty members. The "teaching faculty must avoid exploitation, harassment and discriminatory treatment of students", he wrote.

The letter gives numerous examples of Wax discriminating against Asian students, black students and immigrants. In one instance, she said Asians have an "indifference to liberty" and lack "thoughtful and audacious individualism".

Wax told a student that black students do not perform as well as white students because they are less well prepared because of affirmative action, according to the letter.

In another instance, she said, "after a series of students with foreign sounding names introduced themselves that one student was 'finally, an American' adding, 'it's a good thing, trust me'".

The law school hired a former Northwestern University law school dean to investigate those allegations. "His report credited many of the allegations made against Wax, and revealed additional instances of inappropriate conduct," the letter said.

More complaints came in after Wax made comments about Asians, and the school hired a law firm to interview alumni, students and faculty, some of whose complaints were detailed in Ruger's letter.

Wax's "intentional and incessant racist, sexist, xenophobic, and homophobic actions and statements" have led students not to take her classes, feeling they would be treated unfairly, and have caused anxiety, the letter said.

Wax and her supporters said she is just exercising her freedom of speech. They argue that the tenured professor is protected and should be allowed intellectual freedom to discuss controversial topics.

Wax's colleague Jonathan Zimmerman wrote in an article recently published by Inside Higher Ed that there is a difference between freedom of speech and making racist statements.

"It should be OK to argue for restrictions on immigration to America. But it's not OK to tell immigrants or international students that they're less valued than native-born Americans," wrote Zimmerman, a professor of history of education at the University of Pennsylvania. "That's a gratuitous slur, not a political statement, and it has no place in a university classroom."