September 21, 2017

Dear Dean Ruger and the Penn Law students, faculty, administration, and extended community, As Penn Law alumni, we are compelled to speak out in opposition to Penn Law Professor Amy Wax’s August 9, 2017 op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer and follow-up interviews, including those in the Daily Pennsylvanian and New York magazine. We join a chorus of powerful statements by current students and academics condemning her words. In the Inquirer op-ed, Professor Wax asserts, “All cultures are not equal,” as she calls out the “single-parent, antisocial habits, prevalent among some working-class whites; the anti-‘acting white’ rap culture of inner-city blacks; the anti-assimilation ideas gaining ground among some Hispanic immigrants” as incompatible with the “free-market economy and a viable democracy.” To the Daily Pennsylvanian, she states, “Everyone wants to go to countries ruled by white Europeans,” and notes, “I don’t shrink from the word, ‘superior.’” These views are as destructive as they are erroneous. We reject such baseless and incendiary stereotypes about race, class, ethnicity, and the valuing of white heteronormative culture over all others. Bias pervades American thinking. That inescapable reality unfairly burdens some of us more than others. And of all people, professors should seek to root out their biases, not double down on them without selfcritical thought. Law students in particular are taught to question assumptions, to look for evidence and logic upon which to base their arguments, and to understand every side of a debate. Our professional success depends on these skills. Yet Professor Wax’s piece-rooted in bias and lacking in evidence--displays the exact opposite approach on some of the most important and difficult issues of our time. Although we support all individuals’ right to the freedom of speech, especially in academic contexts, this is not the Penn Law we represent and support. We abhor the association between our alma mater and the bigotry we have seen on display in our country, most recently by white supremacists marching in Charlottesville and elsewhere. For some of us, and for some classmates about whom we care, Professor Wax’s statements remind us of instances in which we were singled out because of who we are and told implicitly or explicitly that our race or our background meant we were less talented and less capable.

We speak out of love for Penn Law--for the friendships forged, for the exchange of ideas inspired, and for the diversity of cultures represented among us. Following recent events, we have two messages for Professor Wax and anyone who would take her views as a reflection of Penn Law: The diversity of the Penn Law student body made us more thoughtful and engaged as people and as lawyers. Quite simply, it made our law school experience better. We celebrate and express our utmost gratitude for that diversity, and we will fiercely defend against any threat to it. We further call for continued efforts to increase diversity at every level of the institution. It is unacceptable for any Penn Law professor to convey to students of a particular race, ethnicity, gender, financial background, sexual orientation, or any other immutable characteristic that those characteristics make them less capable or less talented than their peers. We are watching and listening to make sure every Penn Law student is welcomed into our community as an equally valuable participant. Professors and their academic institutions have the power to shape futures. Arguments of "cultural superiority," when voiced by an authority figure, do not fall under the wide umbrella of diverse ideas that enhance academic experience by challenging students to consider viewpoints different from their own. We need to look deeper into who we are and have been as a Penn Law community to examine, critically, how power is wielded and determine how to best live up to the ideals we have just expressed. Building on the current dialogue, the law school, its staff, its faculty, and its broader community must recommit to a comprehensive and introspective review of how the institution lives its values every day. We support the efforts of current students to engage in this dialogue, which include public statements made by Penn Law’s National Lawyers Guild calling on the administration to consider whether it is appropriate for Professor Wax to continue teaching a mandatory, first semester course. As this ongoing dialogue illustrates, the need for explicit next steps is clear. Recently, University of San Diego School of Law Dean Stephen C. Ferruolo shared a statement outlining the “constructive and concrete ways” he intends to ensure the law school reflects its “shared values.” These included expanded curricular offerings, lectures, and workshops on discrimination and civil rights; workshops on racism and cultural sensitivity for administrators; training program of diversity and inclusion for the law school community; and, most importantly, the development of a working group to develop an action plan for steps to make certain the law school’s commitment to “diversity and inclusion remains strong and irrefutable.”

We urge Dean Ruger to make a similar public commitment. We point to Dean Ferruolo’s commitments as a model and further urge that the administration: 1) Address the gap created by the loss of Professor Howard Lesnick's Legal Responses to Inequality class by creating 1L course offerings addressing issues of poverty, inequality, and civil rights; 2) Set concrete short- and long-term goals for diversity in hiring across a number of metrics (race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, ability); 3) Create an enhanced pipeline program to law school for underrepresented undergraduate students; 4) Eliminate consideration of the LSAT or include the GRE as an alternative option for law school applicants; 5) Underwrite an annual umbrella conference on poverty, inequality, and civil rights and/or formally support the various student affinity groups' conferences; and 6) Create a standing multicultural/diversity advisory group or committee to evaluate and report annually to the law school dean on efforts taken to ensure diversity & inclusion at the law school. We also ask our fellow alumni to reach out to us to be part of this ongoing conversation. We ask you to share your stories of when Penn Law has fallen short as a community in addressing racism and bigotry within the law school and in society as a whole, so that we can come together as a community to reflect on our history and propose concrete solutions to the Penn Law leadership in the near future. We thank you all for your consideration. Sincerely, Name Edward Hernstadt Cathryn Miller-Wilson Laval Miller-Wilson Amy Maldonado Susan Pearlstein Victoria Cook sujatha baliga Amy Crawford Damon Hewitt Jennifer Pokempner Jessica Feierman Rochelle Woodbury Ford

Penn Law Class Year 1991 1993 1995 1998 1998 1998 1999 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000

Susan Marcus Dan Sparaco Jason Lloyd Miller Jonathan H. Feinberg Jordan Barnett Kevin Costello Lamine Reese Luna Yasui Efrem Levy Johanna Steinberg Kevin Maillard Martin Walsh Matthew Lang David A. Love Julius Ybañez Towers Leah G Newkirk Michael Bacchus Sarah Katz Leona Goldshaw Ana Acevedo Erendira Rubin Jane Huang Katherine Minarik Maura McKenna Melissa Iachan Nicholas Vaughan Annie Cho Jennifer Kates Jessica R. Alms John Vang Jonathan Petts Kate McMahon Kristen Dama Margaret P. Kammerud Maryam Jamshidi Natali Thompson Mayo Nivritha Ketty Rodger Pichardo Sujata Sidhu Gibson Tarique Collins Amna Latif Donya Khalili Timofeyev Mira Baylson Robert Manzanares Tricia Beckles Amy Laura Cahn

2000 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001 2002 2002 2002 2002 2002 2003 2003 2003 2003 2003 2004 2006 2006 2006 2006 2006 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2009

Deuel Ross Emily Turner Eric Foley Erin Argueta Erin Valentine Hailey Young Jen Bealer Jessica Gonzalez Josh Garber Joshua Elmore Laura Paley Lauren Flicker Miriam R. Nemeth Olwyn Conway Rachel Pereira Thomas Mueller Timothy D. Porter William Schmedlin Joanna Visser Adjoian Kelsey McCowan Heilman Elizabeth Eisenberg Maureen St. Cyr Mia L Howard Tiffany F. Southerland Angela Johnson Ayana Lewis Christopher L. Cottrell, Jr. Halima Sow Jamie Gullen Jessica Heyman Joline Price Katie R. Beran Marnina Cherkin Natalie DiTomasso Peter Laumann Rachel Miller Rebecca Payne Sheena Dasani Tiffany Gelott Nikki Herst-Cook Heather Crimmins Michael Niu Brittney Denley Jack Regenbogen Caroline Buck Blair Bowie

2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2010 2010 2011 2011 2011 2011 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2013 2014 2014 2015 2015 2016 2017

Carl Snodgrass Elizabeth Levitan Glen Forster Ian Charlton

2017 2017 2017 2017