A graduate teaching assistant at the University of Oklahoma who assigned a student a zero on a psychology essay that cited the Bible will no longer teach at the school, the university confirmed.
“Based on an examination of the graduate teaching assistant’s prior grading standards and patterns, as well as the graduate teaching assistant’s own statements related to this matter, it was determined that the graduate teaching assistant was arbitrary in the grading of this specific paper. The graduate teaching assistant will no longer have instructional duties at the University,” the University of Oklahoma told Newsweek.
The graduate assistant’s attorney, Brittany Stewart, told The Oklahoman that her client, Mel Curth, “continues to deny that she engaged in any arbitrary behavior regarding the student’s work, and is considering all of her legal remedies, including appealing this decision by the university.”
Why It Matters
Samantha Fulnecky, a University of Oklahoma student, filed a report alleging religious discrimination after receiving a zero on her essay. The dispute quickly moved beyond the classroom, drawing national attention and fueling a wider social media argument about grading standards, religious expression, and academic expectations.
The Oklahoma chapter of Turning Point USA, a conservative student organization, amplified the issue online by sharing multiple posts about Fulnecky’s essay, including screenshots. Reactions have been split: some have raised First Amendment concerns and argued Fulnecky was treated unfairly, while others say the grade was justified based on the assignment’s requirements.
What To Know
The university said the student’s claim of religious discrimination tied to a single assignment in an online psychology course has now been resolved.
The original assignment, Newsweek previously reported, asked students to write an article about gender stereotypes in middle school students and how those stereotypes affect mental health. In her essay, Fulnecky grounded her argument in Christianity and the Bible, writing: “Women naturally want to do womanly things because God created us with those womanly desires in our hearts. The same goes for men.”
She also wrote, “God does not view women as less significant than men,” and said that “He created us with such intentionally and care and He made women in his image of being a helper, and in the image of His beauty,” adding, “I am happy to be following a stereotype that aligns with the gifts and abilities God gave me as a woman.”
Elsewhere, Fulnecky wrote that “Society pushing the lie that there are multiple genders and everyone should be whatever they want to be is demonic.”
Much of her broader point, according to the essay, was that she does not personally view gender stereotypes as harmful because it is how “God made us.”
The university said Fulnecky used the school’s grade appeals process and also submitted a formal claim of illegal religious discrimination. The grade appeal was decided in her favor: the assignment was removed entirely from the student’s total point value for the class, “resulting in no academic harm to the student.”
The university said it does not release findings from investigations of discrimination claims.
It also said it has held “repeated and detailed conversations” with the Faculty Senate Executive Committee because the situation touches on both student rights and faculty rights.
What People Are Saying
University of Oklahoma, in a statement to Newsweek: “The University of Oklahoma believes strongly in both its faculty’s rights to teach with academic freedom and integrity and its students’ right to receive an education that is free from a lecturer’s impermissible evaluative standards. We are committed to teaching students how to think, not what to think.”
Turning Point USA University of Oklahoma, on Instagram: “Thank you for standing with Samantha Fulnecky and for looking into this serious matter. Religious discrimination is not welcome at OU. We proudly stand with OU’s decision and commend Samantha Fulnecky for being bold in her faith! Thanks again to the Governor and elected officials across the state for holding the University accountable.”
What Happens Next
The University of Oklahoma said it “will continue to review best practices to ensure that its instructors have the comprehensive training necessary to objectively assess their students’ work without limiting their ability to teach, inspire, and elevate our next generation.”
