Law Student Groups Reiterate Demands for Penn to Fire Amy Wax After White Nationalist Invite

Law student affinity groups reiterated their demands for Penn to fire Amy Wax after she invited white nationalist Jared Taylor to return as a guest speaker in her class.

On Tuesday, the Black Law Students Association posted a statement on Instagram urging the administration again to terminate Wax in light of inviting Taylor — and because of her “racist, vile, and absurd messages about Black students at Penn and Black people at large.”

Taylor – the editor of American Renaissance, a publication that promotes eugenics – is scheduled to speak at Wax’s course LAW 9560: “Conservative and Political Legal Thought” on Nov. 28, according to a copy of the course syllabus obtained by The Daily Pennsylvanian. Wax, a tenured professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, previously invited Taylor to her class in 2021.

“We urge Penn Carey Law to unambiguously and unequivocally uphold its commitment to a safe, inclusive, and forward-thinking educational environment by challenging its leadership to decisively reject any trace of bigotry within its corridors,” BLSA wrote in the statement.

BLSA wrote that it was hypocritical for the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School to continue to employ Wax as a tenured professor while claiming to be an institution “committed to realizing equality and justice within and beyond our walls” and championing Dr. Sadie T.M. Alexander for being the first Black woman to have graduated from Penn Carey Law.

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Penn is yet to announce whether it will sanction Wax — four months after a faculty panel held disciplinary hearings and over 19 months since an investigation began. The University has alleged that Wax’s controversial conduct and claims have violated Penn’s behavioral standards, naming Wax’s invite of Taylor to her class as one such example.

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BLSA has been coordinating with student groups about whether to take additional steps, such as releasing additional joint or singular statements, holding a protest, or sticking to conversations and meetings. The group is also being supported by the Student Affairs Office and the Office of Equity & Inclusion.

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President of the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association at Penn Carey Law Yuan Tao told the DP that APALSA also plans to publish a statement condemning Wax in response to Taylor being invited back to campus.

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