The first day of arguments in the trial concluded at around 4:20 p.m. Klein was the only witness at the stand.

Klein said he intended to challenge the student’s logic when responding to their request for accomodations, adding that he had no intention of humiliating or insulting them. He said he did not receive “the fair and quotable treatment of all,” as there was no formal investigation prior to his suspension.

“I answered a student’s question,” he said. “That was my conduct.”

Following Klein’s response to the student, he said him and his family were sent threats. He added that he later reported the incidents to Antonio Bernardo, the dean of the UCLA Anderson School of Management, the police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Upon receiving an email from a student titled “An Appeal on Behalf of Black Bruins,” Klein said he believed the student was requesting preferential accomodations, adding that he thought it was “unlawful.” Given the changes to online instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic, Klein said he only assigned a “simple and straightforward final exam” during the 2020 class.

He added that he received an email from Judson Caskey, professor of accounting at UCLA Anderson School of Management and Klein’s supervisor at the time, to follow “normal procedures” with assignment accommodations. Klein said he interpreted “normal procedures” as only addressing student-specific circumstances such as Center for Accessible Education accommodations.