OU student claims bad grade is an attack on her faith

[marmar]

OU student claims bad grade is an attack on her faith
OU psych student appeals failing grade on Bible-based essay that ignored instructions and lacked any academic rigor

By CK Smith
Weekend Editor
Published November 30, 2025 3:32PM (EST)


(Salon) AUniversity of Oklahoma psychology student is challenging a failing grade after submitting a gender‑roles reflection essay that heavily referenced the Bible, sparking debate over free speech, academic standards and the role of personal belief in college coursework.

Samantha Fulnecky, a junior psychology major, submitted a 650‑word reaction paper in a course assignment asking students to reflect on societal expectations of gender and children. The instructions allowed students to incorporate personal experience or perspective, but emphasized thoughtful engagement with the original article. Fulnecky’s essay instead leaned heavily on biblical teachings to argue for traditional gender roles, without citing empirical research or quoting specific scripture.

The graduate assistant grader gave the essay a zero, noting that it “contradicts itself,” “heavily uses personal ideology over empirical evidence,” and contains passages that are “offensive.” The student claims the failing grade amounts to religious discrimination and a violation of her free-speech rights. She has appealed the grade and contacted state officials and religious-freedom advocates. ...................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/11/30/ou-student-claims-bad-grade-is-an-attack-on-her-faith/

[50 Shades Of Blue]

1. Teeing up for the Supreme Court.

[Turbineguy]

2. Sounds a bit like a wingnut operation.

[Dave Bowman]

3. Oh give me a f*cking break.

[BOSSHOG]

4. "Lacked any academic rigor"

AND ignored instructions. DAMN, that student just punched her ticket to the Republican Leaders Circle of Academia. You Go Girl!

[Takket]

19. Seriously....... i feel like a sucker for making an honest living when I could have just been Riley Gaines

who parlayed a fifth place swimming medal into becoming a household name.

of course, i have a soul, and I'm not a hate filled monster, so I'm very happy to not be Riley Gaines.

But you just know this "essay" was written with the same goal in mind. becomes a symbol of "right wing oppression", and start banking the $20000 speaking engagements.

[Takket]

44. BUMP!!!!!!!!!!

She's officially made herself famous.........

https://www.comicsands.com/oklahoma-house-fulnecky-citation-recognition?utm_source=Bluesky&utm_medium=infeed&utm_campaign=linkprogram#Echobox=1764963019

Samantha Fulnecky, the University of Oklahoma student who received a zero on a psychology essay about gender after using the Bible as her only source, was honored by the Oklahoma House of Representatives with a special "Citation of Recognition" this week after her complaint—which resulted in a transgender graduate student being placed on administrative leave—made headlines.

Fulnecky's instructor Mel Curth, a transgender woman, assigned her students a 650-word essay about how gender stereotypes impact societal expectations of individuals. Fulnecky instead wrote about what the Bible says about "traditional gender roles," arguing that to refer to them as "stereotypes" is "demonic."

Curth began their feedback to Fulnecky by stressing that the grade was not penalized over the student’s personal views, but instead reflected the fact that she failed to follow the assignment guidelines, contradicted her own arguments, included offensive remarks, and offered no empirical support.

But Fulnecky complained—and immediately received the support of the conservative organization Turning Point USA, which said Curth "lacks the intellectual maturity to set her own bias aside and take grading seriously."

[BOSSHOG]

45. Italy complained

And IMMEDIATELY received the support of the Nazi Party which said the US lacks the intellectual maturity to govern freely.

[bluestarone]

5. Well, today they have the supreme court they love, so

Perfect timing for this kinds of shit. (and they know it)

[Nigrum Cattus]

6. White "Christian" Nationalist bullshit

Nobody gets to just complete an assignment anyway
they want !
It's not free speech to a turn psych paper into a philosophy paper
RWRE are all the American taliban
RWRE = right wing religious extremists

[intheflow]

7. Beyonce disagrees with her conclusions.

[J_William_Ryan]

8. "...biblical teachings to argue for traditional gender roles..."

Absent objective, documented evidence in support of ‘traditional gender roles,’ the bigoted right will resort to hateful religious dogma to justify discriminating against transgender and non-binary Americans.

[sinkingfeeling]

9. Of course, it's Biblical Oklahoma.

[Jim__]

10. A zero? That does sound a bit extreme.

It's not possible to actually judge without seeing the assignment and the essay. Also would like to know if the grader put any specific comments in the paper that might help the student do better next time.

[Boo1]

12. The paper and assignment are linked in the article

Last edited Mon Dec 1, 2025, 02:00 AM - Edit history (2)

and I have to say, I think the student has a legit gripe.

Their paper isnt good, and certainly does all of the things that the grader noted. However, the assignment doesn't really say that those things are a reason to lose points. The assignment is a reaction paper to an article that is assigned reading. It offers ideas who how to approach it, the first being

"A discussion of why you feel the topic is important and worthy of study (or not)."

And I think this paper certainly meets that offering. There is even a rubric attached to the assignment, and I fail to see how each one wasn't atleast partially met.

[Jim__]

15. Thanks, I hadn't seen those links.

Zero does seem extreme.

[Blasphemer]

24. I agree. The assignment gave the students a lot of flexibility. This is a failure of the instructor & the grader...

likely was biased (even if I would also be offended in their shoes).

[róisín_dubh]

41. Have you taught college ever?

No? Wide latitudes with papers are extremely common.
Students do not read instructions and get pissed the moment you tell them something is wrong. They do not ask for further instructions, they just do what they want (literally emailed three students last night who did not follow directions on a major assignment, and had emailed others about this earlier).
The student had cited the Bible with no issues earlier.
Whine-y customer” didn’t like their “purchase” is more like it.

[Stargleamer]

43. She didn't engage with the article at all

She doesn't even quote from the article, just lists her opinion on trans issues. That obviously wasn't what the instructor had it mind, otherwise the instructor could have just given the assignment as "what do you think of trans issues, and gender nonconformity".

Never as an undergrad could I turn in something so embarrassing, even if I was religious. When I was an undergrad I would really wrestle with ideas, and strive for clarity, and engage in as much time putting it together as possible. Fulnecky could have written this in 10 minutes or less. Often, I would spend much more than that just looking for the correct word to use when I was writing papers as an undergrad.

You left out in your response that the instructor did put down what she/he/they were looking for--clarity, critical thinking, etc. and the points that would be given for how well the student met those criteria. It's a judgment call, but it's hard to see any critical thinking going on this paper.

I might give it 15 points because the article in question does have some bearing on trans issues, but giving it a 0, well I had professors who I know would do that. If she wants to become a doctor someday then she has to learn how to write better, and not treat what the instructor is looking for as a non sequitur.

[Raven123]

31. I'm guessing, the "because God says so" argument didn't meet the critical thinking threshold

[Iris]

42. I had the same thoughts. The grade feels reactive.

I'm assuming no comments were given but the instructor on the writing but could be wrong there.

[Diraven]

11. This is Oklahoma, so...

I expect the 80% Republican legislature to quickly pass a law that says students are allowed and encouraged to use nothing but the Bible as a source for scholarly papers. So if an astronomy student says that the sun goes around the flat earth and stars are angels, they must get an A. If a biology student says the theory of evolution is a satanic conspiracy and diseases are curses caused by sin, they must get an A. If a medical student says that all ailments and injuries can be cured by prayer alone and providing any other medical treatment will condemn the patient to eternal damnation in hell, they must get an A and a license to practice medicine.

[cloudbase]

13. Samantha might want to look into a transfer to

Liberty or Hillsdale.

[Norrrm]

16. Doesn't know the Bible enough to reference specific scripture.... Sounds like a Trump Christian.

[flvegan]

17. Sounds like the lead up to a GiveSendGo/GoFundMe scam.

You can't spell "conservative" without "con" now can you.

[Iggo]

18. I don't know about that.

But I do know that my laughing my ass off about it is definitely an attack on her faith.

[Takket]

20. kind of hard to use religion as an excuse when you don't even quote scripture

[Ms. Toad]

21. This is (should be) a private matter between the student and the professor.

Reviewing the assignment and the essay (both available at the link) as well as at least a basic rubric, the graduate grader needs better training. The appeal should be to the professor, who ought to be able to regrade the assignment and correct the graduate student. Getting external agencies involved - certainly to the extent that it winds up in a national publication is ridiculous.

Over-the-top reaction aside, while the essay wasn't stellar (even without considering viewpoint), it was responsive to the assignment - which was a reaction assignment, not a research assignment.

You must write a 650 words (body of text), double-spaced reaction paper demonstrating that you read the assigned article and includes a thoughtful reaction to the material presented in the article

GRADING: Reaction papers are graded on a 25-point scale, and are evaluated based on teh following:
1. Does the paper show a clear tie-in to the assigned article (10 points)
2. Does the paper present a thoughtful reaction or response to the article, rather than a summary? (10 points)
3. Is the paper clearly written? (5 points)

"The graduate assistant grader gave the essay a zero, noting that it “contradicts itself,” “heavily uses personal ideology over empirical evidence,” and contains passages that are “offensive.”"

None of these bear any relationship to the grading criteria, aside from potentially being unclear because it contradicts itself (although I didn't actually see much internal contradiction). A reaction may well include personal ideology - and personal ideology may be offensive to others. Certainly, empirical evidence is not required in a reaction paper, the goal of which is to demonstrate the student read the assigned article.

[yardwork]

22. Two extremists collide.

Sounds like the student was pushing it and the TA overreacted, possibly with biases of their own.

The student didn't go to the professor. They went to the media and sued. That's not acting in good faith.

Now we'll get a mountain from a molehill and probably a test case for SCOTUS.

[Ms. Toad]

26. It won't get that far.

This appears to be a paper submitted less than a month ago. Given how long it often takes to grade papers in a class large enough to have graduate assistants, the professor and university have barely had time to react. I'm guessing it will all quietly go away. The professor will take a look and see that their grad assistant went off the rails, and will adjust the grade.

At any rate, based on the classes I'm in now, this is probably one of 3-4 papers for the semester, worth perhaps 5% of the grade. (I've had 4 papers this semester, 3 of similar length - each worth 5% of my overall grade for the semester). No one is going to risk a lawsuit over that piddling assignment.

(Current undergrad student - but I also have an undergrad degree, a masters degree, a JD, and for 9.5 years I taught a full load years at the JD level. So I've got quite a bit of insight from multiple perspectives on this matter. She's just getting her 15 minutes of fame.)

[Boo1]

29. Agree with everything you said

Graders have to be mindful to not let their own biases impact their grading. That's why we have rubrics.

This happened to me once, under much different circumstances.

I was taking a class called "Geography goes to the movies." It was an upper level geog class where we would watch a movie and then write an essay about the themes of geography present. I made the mistake of saying in one that I didn't like the premise of the film and the professor ripped me to shreds on the grade. After that I made sure each paper mentioned how much I enjoyed the movie and things went much better.

[yardwork]

35. I hope you're right but these are weird times.

The governor is already involved. I have a feeling this was planned. This is in Oklahoma.

https://www.oudaily.com/news/ou-statement-student-failing-grade-bible-psychology-essay-discrimination-first-amendment/article_306d35a7-ac6a-433f-9ff9-8dad255b1b72.html

[Ms. Toad]

38. The action taken by the school (suspending the graduate student's teaching role).

The university has taken. Appropriate steps to ensure the students academic status will not be impacted by this paper.

The essay meet the started requirements for the assignment. It was unconscionable to give the student a zero because the graduate student has a philosophical disagreement with the student. I've graded lots of student essays with which I personally disagree. I've even made and evaluated) legal arguments in moot court competitions with which I personally disagree. If you can't be objective, you have no business holding a red pen.

[Drum]

23. This Husband-of-a-Professor appreciates your perspective.

I’m seeing the initial OP as a “case,” so thank you for the administrative/legal map there.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

28. In her essay she said: 'Gender roles and tendencies should not be considered "stereotypes". 'Women naturally want to do

In her essay she said: 'Gender roles and tendencies should not be considered "stereotypes".

'Women naturally want to do womanly things because God created us with those womanly desires in our hearts.

'The same goes for men. God created men in the image of His courage and strength, and He created women in the image of His beauty.'

[hunter]

25. I took a "Bible as Literature" class once...

... and a few fundamentalist Christian students ruined for everyone. They were very vocal and acted like it was a Bible Study class at whatever godforsaken churches they came from.

The young inexperienced professor was too timid to shut them down. He wasted a lot of time trying to get them on track.

I might have started a fight with them, may have muttered "Not this shit again," once or twice, but I'd already flunked a class and been forced to take a time out from school for that sort of behavior.

[iemanja]

39. Yeah, religious studies is not proselytizing

It’s a serious academic field.

[lapfog_1]

27. This IS from a part of our nation that tried to legislate the value of Pi

I moved out as soon as i could.

And, yes, I know that was Indiana and not Oklahoma. But given half a chance and a religious reason to do so...

[SamKnause]

30. They always play the role of the persecuted.

Fuck Christian Nationalism.

[tanyev]

32. Hun, if you feel that strongly about Biblical traditional gender roles, then why are you in college?

Shouldn’t you be home getting ready to pop out baby #4?

[yardwork]

36. One wonders why she took a psychology course.

It's not uncommon for right wing students aligned with national right groups to take courses from professors known to be progressive, just to "catch" them.

Looks like this might be one of those cases.

[redstatebluegirl]

33. Turning Point had a huge rally there recently.

They filled the basketball arena, they are VERY active on that campus. Put two and two together and what do you get.

Every campus has a process to appeal grades, from what I hear she did not go through that process but instead went straight to a lawyer. Pretty common these days unfortunately.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

34. As a former "graduate assistant paper grader", I would not have given a grade of zero.

I gave points if some collection of words actually resembled complete sentences, bonus if they made a point somewhat related to the question.

I hated essay questions on tests. They exposed the severe illiteracy in a (thankfully small) percentage of the students.

[Hotler]

37. Christian Taliban youth core. nt

[iemanja]

40. There are ways to study Christianity

and write papers about it with academic rigor. I once had a student do an excellent research paper on Christianity. It was clear he was a believer, but his paper wasn’t about proselytizing. I wish I could remember more about it, but it was over 20 years ago. I do recall it was excellent.

[Buckeyeblue]

46. The instructor could have given a zero without commenting on the students point of view

The paper was not a true response to the article that was provided. She didn't even reference the article. The writing was poor--especially for a junior in college. It's repetitive. It doesn't really make an overall point.

I would have failed the paper and written, you have some interesting ideas but you didn't follow the directions for the assignment. Additionally, the writing needs to be cleaned up.

But because the instructor referenced the content they opened themselves up to this challenge. Don't fall into the Jesus trap. And remember there are a million ways to tell someone they shit their without referencing either shit or their pants.