Gordon Klein, an accounting professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, says he was placed on involuntary leave after students slammed him as being racist and dismissive for questioning a request to be lenient on black students given the George Floyd protests
A UCLA professor who was suspended and accused of being ‘woefully racist’ after he refused a request to effectively cancel final exams for black students amid the George Floyd protests says his record is ‘pristine’ and that he has hired a lawyer.
Gordon Klein, an accounting professor at the university’s Anderson School of Management, says he was placed on involuntary leave after students slammed him as being racist and dismissive for questioning the request to be lenient on black students.
Klein says he has been subjected to ongoing threats after an email exchange he had with students about the request was posted online.
A Change.org petition calling for him to be fired has also attracted more than 20,000 signatures.
The petition calls for support in having Klein’s employment terminated for his ‘extremely insensitive, dismissive, and woefully racist response to his students’ request for empathy and compassion during a time of civil unrest’.
Klein told Fox Business on Wednesday that he had hired an attorney following his suspension.
He has denied any suggestion of discrimination.
‘My record is pristine when it comes to any accusations relating to alleged discrimination,’ he said.
‘I love UCLA and would like to return to what I’ve done for 39 years.’
In separate comments to NBC News, Klein said he had always provided compassionate treatment for students facing unique stresses during final exams but that he was following orders from his supervisor.
‘In 39 years of teaching, there are hundreds of students who can attest that I have given them compassion, encouragement and support,’ he said. ‘I sympathize with anyone who at any time feels anguish or pain.’
The university said in a statement that Klein’s classes had been reassigned while reports of his alleged conduct were investigated.
Klein says he has been subjected to ongoing threats after an email exchange he had with students about the request was posted online. A Change.org petition calling for him to be fired has also attracted more than 20,000 signatures
Protesters gather during a march down Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles on Sunday
The saga unfolded after students, who described themselves as ‘non-black allies’, wrote to Klein asking him to effectively cancel final exams for their black peers given the current civil unrest in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
The students had requested a ‘no-harm’ final exam that could only benefit students’ grades, for shortened exams and extended deadlines for final assignments and projects.
The students wrote that, in light of recent ‘traumas, we have been placed in a position where we much choose between actively supporting our black classmates or focusing on finishing up our spring quarter’.
‘We believe that remaining neutral in times of injustice brings power to the oppressor and therefore staying silent is not an option,’ they wrote.
Klein replied and denied their request for leniency.
‘Thanks for your suggestion in your email below that I give black students special treatment, given the tragedy in Minnesota,’ he wrote.
‘Do you know the names of the classmates that are black? How can I identify them since we’ve been having online classes only?
‘Are there any students that may be of mixed parentage, such as half black-half Asian? What do you suggest I do with respect to them? A full concession or just half?’
Klein asked the students whether any of them – black or otherwise – were from Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed at the hands of police on May 25.
‘I assume that they probably are especially devastated as well,’ he wrote. ‘I am thinking that a white student from there might be possibly even more devastated by this, especially because some might think that they’re racist even if they are not.
‘My TA (teaching assistant) is from Minneapolis, so if you don’t know, I can probably ask her.’
Klein asked how he was expected to implement the ‘no-harm’ exam, given the course was solely graded on the final exam.
He ended his email with a quote from Martin Luther King.
Protesters and police officers meet at a police road barricade on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood on Sunday. An estimated 20,000 people attended the march
‘One last thing strikes me: Remember that MLK famously said that people should not be evaluated based on the ‘color of their skin,” he wrote. ‘Do you think that your request would run afoul of MLK’s admonition? Thanks, G. Klein.’
In a separate email to his entire class, Klein said that outside events, including personal hardship, do not necessarily relieve students of their responsibilities.
He gave the example of his daughter, who suffered a severe illness and lost close friends to suicide during her time at UCLA, but still completed course work.
‘Some students have asked that the final exam be delayed or changed or waived altogether,’ he told the class.
‘Life deals all of us challenges and I have no doubt that many of you are facing some now.
‘In a perfectly fair world, I would be able to take these individual factors into account and perhaps modify the terms in our course syllabus, but my understanding of university rules is that, with rare exceptions, I should not.’
Students slammed his response, saying it was unreasonable given it was a valid request.
Following outrage from students, the dean of Anderson School of Business, Antonio Bernardo, sent an email out on Monday calling Klein’s behavior ‘troubling’.
‘Respect and equality for all are core principles at UCLA Anderson,’ a spokesman for the school said.
‘It is deeply disturbing to learn of this email, which we are investigating. We apologize to the student who received it and to all those who have been as upset and offended by it as we are ourselves.’
Those speaking out in defense of Klein said he was within his First Amendment rights to send the response.
Lawyer Katlyn Patton, who works for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, said the organization had sent a letter to UCLA on Wednesday demanding Klein be reinstated.
‘Klein has significant rights to manage the content and direction of his course and his disagreement with the students’ reasoning does not amount to harassment or unlawful discrimination,’ Patton said.