Originally posted on Quora June 11, 2020
This is Gordon Klein.
Gordon is an accounting professor at UCLA. Or was an accounting professor, we will get there.
Gordon has been teaching this semester online as the COVID lockdown caused colleges to end in-classroom teaching.
Gordon received a flood of emails this week asking him to allow black students to be exempt from the final exam due to emotional hardship suffered from the George Floyd murder.
Gordon said no. He responded to everyone with a single email that outlined to following points.
- Since the class is online he has no idea who is black or white
- The entire class’s grade is based on the final exam so you cannot be given credit for the course if you have not taken the exam
- He said he was unsure how to handle mixed-race students, white students, or those from Minneapolis. Should they be given a partial exemption?
- He pointed out many white students are afraid right now because the trend of “all white people are racist” is floating around.
Here is the full email
“Thanks for your suggestion in your email below that I give black students special treatment, given the tragedy in Minnesota,” wrote Klein. “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? Also, do you have any idea if any students are from Minneapolis? I assume that they probably are especially devastated as well. 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 is from Minneapolis, so if you don’t know, I can probably ask her. Can you guide me on how you think I should achieve a “no-harm” outcome since our sole course grade is from a final exam only? One last thing strikes me: 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? Thanks, G. Klein”
Was this a good time to send that kind of email? No. First, because tensions are high right now. People are upset and rightfully so. But when woke political activists are given the power, they tend to become highly aggressive and quite cruel to anyone who dares disagree with their always-logical and reasonable stances.
So maybe he should not have sent this email. Perhaps an apology would be in order.
That’s not what happened. Here is what did, and here is what made me so angry.
- UCLA suspended him- they will likely fire him.
- The students or some of them started a petition to fire Gordon
- Gordon was doxxed with his personal information was leaked online
- Gordon has now received hundreds of violent death threats from the intolerant progressives of California
- Gordon now has lost his job and has to live under police protection
This is so wrong. I mean come on- the dude sent a poorly timed email and the response is “kill that evil accounting professor!”
Is this fair or right? Not at all.