Pressure is mounting for University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill to resign following her controversial statements to Congress this week.
The advisor board of Wharton Business School has now called on Magill to resign from her position in a new letter reported by the school’s newspaper on Dec. 7.
“In light of your testimony yesterday before Congress, we demand the University clarify its position regarding any call for harm to any group of people immediately, change any policies that allow such conduct with immediate effect, and discipline all offenders expeditiously,” states the undated letter.
The board denounced the “dangerous and toxic culture” that the university’s administration did not prevent from taking root.
“Our University chooses to maintain policies that do not protect our students and our community,” wrote the board.
While appearing before the United States House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Dec. 5, Magill was asked by Congresswoman Elise Stefanik if it was a violation of UPenn’s code of conduct for individuals to call for the genocide of Jewish people.
“If the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment,” the university president replied. “It is a context-dependent decision."
"This is unacceptable. Ms. Magill, I’m gonna give you one more opportunity for the world to see your answer,” responded Stefanik. “Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Penn’s code of conduct when it comes to bullying and harassment? Yes or no?"
"It can be harassment," Magill said.
The UPenn Board of Trustees held an emergency meeting on Dec. 7 following the backlash to her comments.
Ross Stevens, the founder and CEO of Ridge Asset Management and an alum of UPenn, cited Magill’s refusal to denounce threats of violence against Jewish people as a factor in his decision to withdraw a $100 million donation to the school.
“Its permissive approach to hate speech calling for violence against Jews and laissez faire attitude toward harassment and discrimination against Jewish students would violate any policies or rules that prohibit harassment and discrimination based on religion, including those of Stone Ridge,” an attorney for Stevens wrote in a letter to the school, per Axios.
Magill’s comments also angered many UPenn students, who felt she failed to support the school’s Jewish community.
“Frankly, I thought her comments were absolutely shameful,” said Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who is scheduled to spend the first night of Hannukah with Penn Hillel, per The Daily Pennsylvanian. “It should not be hard to condemn genocide.”
On Dec. 6, Magill’s office released a video statement wherein the university president said she was focused on UPenn’s “longstanding policies aligned with the U.S. Constitution, which say that speech alone is not punishable.”
“I was not focused on, but I should have been, the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate. It's evil—plain and simple,” she said.
“I want to be clear, a call for genocide of Jewish people is threatening—deeply so,” Magill continued. “In my view, it would be harassment or intimidation. For decades, under multiple Penn presidents and consistent with most universities, Penn’s policies have been guided by the Constitution and the law. In today’s world, where we are seeing signs of hate proliferating across our campus and our world in a way not seen in years, these policies need to be clarified and evaluated.”
In addition to Magill, Harvard President Claudine Gay appeared before Congress and has also been heavily criticized for her response to Stefanik’s question.
"At Harvard, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard's rules of bullying and harassment?" asked the New York congresswoman.
"It can be, depending on the context," said Gay.
