I have an op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer on the controversy surrounding Professor Amy Wax at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. You can see more about the current controversy here.
My focus on the op-ed is on whether there is or should be a hate speech exception to academic freedom and tenure protections. Many of those who were calling for Penn to fire Wax for her comments on the Glenn Loury podcast have been arguing that hate speech is unprotected. This claim seems as misguided in this context as it is in the larger First Amendment context. As I note there:
It is not hard to weaponize a hate speech exception to academic freedom in order to drive out professors with unpopular views. One student complained that professor Wax should be sanctioned for making students feel "uncomfortable" and "unheard," and a student petition called for tenure rules to be modified to ensure that tenured professors must follow "principles of social equity." But such claims can be multiplied endlessly. In 2020, College Republicans announced that it felt unwelcome on campus because of a history professor's anti-MAGA social media posts. Sponsors of measures that oppose critical race theory justify them, in part, by arguing that professors who teach critical race theory are creating a hostile educational environment for white students. If academic freedom principles are changed to escort professor Wax out the door, she will not be the only one to find herself out on the street.
