A UCLA professor has been placed on leave after refusing to postpone a final exam for black students in his class over the death of George Floyd.
According to NBC News, accounting lecturer Gordon Klein rejected a request to postpone final exams in his accounting classes for black students, which sparked a student-led campaign calling for the university to fire him. A petition was started and has received more than 20,000 signatures.
In response to the death of George Floyd, students and faculty in universities around the country have insisted that black students should be granted "universal passing" grades.
In an e-mail to students responding to the request, Klein wrote, "Thanks for your suggestion in your email below that I give black students special treatment, given the tragedy in Minnesota. 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?"
He added, "Remember that MLK famously said that people should not be evaluated based on the 'color of their skin.' Do you think that your request would run afoul of MLK's admonition?"
Klein, who has taught at UCLA for 39 years, is currently under police protection following threats of violence, according to the Washington Free Beacon.