Hundreds of Penn faculty invited to free speech event with professor

Amy Wax

The webinar is part of an ongoing fight by Wax to persuade Penn to end its disciplinary proceedings

JARED MITOVICH

Senior Reporter

Around 500 Penn faculty were invited to a free speech group’s event with Amy Wax — but only 15 Penn emails are registered to attend.

On April 13 at 3:00 p.m., the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression will host a Zoom webinar titled “Amy Wax and the Limits of Academic Freedom.” The event will be moderated by FIRE Director of Faculty Outreach Komi Frey and feature Wax, a tenured University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School professor who is currently the subject of ongoing University disciplinary proceedings regarding her controversial conduct.

The webinar is part of a fight by Wax to persuade Penn against taking disciplinary action, Frey wrote to The Daily Pennsylvanian — similar to the counter-complaint against Penn that Wax filed in January.

“Many faculty will not find her case compelling, and I also want to give them the opportunity to question her in real time,” Frey wrote, adding that Wax is hoping to gain faculty support.

Frey invited FIRE’s Faculty Network — consisting of 3,000 faculty nationwide — to the webinar, in addition to approximately 500 Penn faculty. She wrote that, as of Wednesday at 5:00 p.m., 188 faculty nationwide had registered to attend, including 15 faculty using Penn emails. The event is not open to the public.

“I’m not sure how many other Penn faculty there are because the vast majority of registrants gave us their Gmails, presumably because they do not want their universities to see their activity,” Frey wrote.

At the webinar, Wax will refute allegations made regarding her comments to students, including when she told a Black Penn Carey Law student that she was only a double Ivy student “because of affirmative action.”

“What I think will probably come out of this webinar are just a fresh barrage of despicable quotes from her,” Penn Carey Law second year and Council of Student Representatives President Michael Krone said.

In a statement, the Black Law Student Association at Penn Carey Law called the webinar “a strategy for Professor Amy Wax to garner the sympathy of Penn faculty while downplaying her egregious, racist conduct.”

“Missing from the prospective audience of this webinar will be Penn Carey students of color (many of whom belong to populations Professor Wax has publicly demeaned) who can speak to the harm that Professor Wax’s conduct has caused throughout her tenure,” BLSA wrote.

FIRE has previously called Wax’s case a “threat for all Penn faculty,” saying that if she is sanctioned, free speech and tenure protections would be weakened.

GSRs, from FRONT PAGE

“I think that installing GSRs in Houston is so helpful — its location is ideal, and I go there all the time anyway to eat. College students need better study spaces,” Zaidi said.

GSRs have long been a point of contention for students. GSRs in select buildings like the Academic Research Building and Huntsman Hall — the latter having the most GSRs — can only be booked by Wharton students.

Penn has recently installed new GSRs throughout campus, including those at the Holman Biotech Commons, which was renovated in 2021.

Students said that although they look forward to using these GSRs, they hope Penn will add schoolspecific GSRs similar to those offered to Wharton students.

Along these lines, College first year Harish Balasubramanian said that Penn should add study rooms to

Engineering buildings, such as Levine Hall, similar to how Wharton students have access to Huntsman Hall.

In 2016, Huntsman Hall installed $10,000 worth of technology into all of their GSRs, including TVs, remote controls, and whiteboards. A year later, it became possible for students to book GSRs through Penn Mobile.

Faulk told The Daily Pennsylvanian that these would not be the only GSRs to be added to the growing list of available study spaces for students. He said that staff must first “identify spaces that are available or could be available for students to study,” and take into consideration student feedback on the GSRs.

Faulk added that it would be difficult to add more study spaces in Houston Hall given its use for events and as a student center, but he cited Williams Plaza and ARCH as potential places for more GSR expansion.

TBTN, from FRONT PAGE

protesting sexual violence that is held across the world.

This year’s Take Back The Night was one of the biggest events since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the first that has been in person and unmasked.

“Over 70% of people at Penn don’t report sexual violence when they experience it,” ASAP chair and College junior Harley Haas said. “[The event] gets the conversation about sexual violence started, because here at Penn, the culture is real.”

Campus resources — including Restorative Practices at Penn, Penn Violence Prevention, and Penn Women’s Center — were present throughout the event to support students.

“It is so powerful for students to know that those resources will be there for them,” Haas said. “That was a very effective part of the event, making it clear [to students] what resources there are and how they can benefit you.”

College first year Helena Saven, who joined ASAP this semester, was part of the planning committee for Take Back The Night, coordinating the various student performance groups and speakers slated for the event.

“The issue of sexual assault is really an issue of safety,” Saven said, “because college is a place you’re supposed to be safe, supported, and take time to discover yourself and explore.”

In addition to planning Take Back the Night, the group is currently working on an app intended to help students navigate campus resources.

“When students do report [sexual assault or violence], it feels like they're bounced around from the source resource. So just having one clear guide, where do you go when you have experienced this scenario … we have been advocating for this for years,” Haas said.

President Liz Magill gave the first speech at the event.

“As a community, we must continue to strive for that future with no sexual or interpersonal violence. We must all do our utmost to make that a reality. And I will say we can never relent on that effort,” Magill said.

Other speakers at the event included activist and writer Fox Holiday and Allison Denmann, who is the clinical director and nurse manager at the Philadelphia Sexual Assault Response Center.

“We can collect evidence, we can provide time sensitive medical care, we can provide resource referrals as a primary interface for survivors who consent to this nature of care,” Denmann said.

“The most powerful thing that you can do is learn how to treat yourself with kindness, with gentleness, with curiosity. Because that is where transformation lives,” Holiday said.

The ARCH was packed for the speaker event and a performance from Penn Dance Company before students marched down Locust Walk and around Walnut Street. The night ended with a survivors’ vigil, where confidential resources were present.

College first year Eva Gonzalez-Whitehouse attended the event as a representative of Penn’s Sailing Team, which was a co-sponsor of the event.

“I felt moved by the speakers, the rally, the march, and the survivor vigil. It is amazing that Take Back the Night spreads awareness and empowers others to stand against sexual violence in their community,” Gonzalez-Whitehouse said.

Event planning for Take Back The Night occurs over the course of the entire year. Planning for next year’s event has already begun.

“It’s one thing for administrators to say [resources] are there, and it's another thing to actually have these changes occur,” Haas said. “We really do want our Penn community to do better.”