University Of Oklahoma Places Professor On Leave After Student Cries 'Religious Discrimination' For Bad Grade On Essay

A Christian college student has started an all-out war after she received a failing grade on a psychology essay for using the Bible as her only source.

Samantha Fulnecky was assigned a 650-word essay about how gender stereotypes impact societal expectations of individuals.

Instead, she wrote an essay about what the Bible says about "traditional gender roles," and how the notion that they are "stereotypes" is "demonic."

In so doing, she cited not a single source—not even a Bible verse. So, she was given a zero by graduate professor Mel Curth, who explained explicitly that the grade was because Fulnecky wrote an essay based solely on opinion rather than than the "empirical evidence" required to be used "in a scientific class."

But since Curth is trans, Fulnecky claims she has been persecuted because of her religious beliefs.

Fulnecky made her charge despite Curth's kindly and fulsomely explained reasoning for the grade, which she explicitly noted was not based on Fulnecky's ideology but simply her failure to follow the directions of her assignment.

But to many right-wing Christians, of course, any pushback is a religion-based attack, and Fulnecky is clearly no exception. She had her parents alert right-wing media and wrote a letter to Oklahoma's governor claiming she was being persecuted.

And naturally, she immediately received support from the opportunists and ideologues at the late Charlie Kirk's far-right organization Turning Point USA.

In a statement on X, TPUSA called Curth "mentally ill" and excoriated her for supposedly persecuting Fulnecky in a series of posts that included screenshots of both Fulnecky's essay and Curth's response—which very clearly show no persecution occurred.

The statement reads, in part:

"Clearly this professor lacks the intellectual maturity to set her own bias aside and take grading seriously."

"Professors like this are the very reason conservatives can't voice their beliefs in the classroom."

That is, of course, flatly false. Fulnecky was permitted to voice her beliefs in the classroom and has faced no consequences whatsoever besides a failing grade for writing a completely different essay than she was asked to write.

But even that consequence for her actions is being erased. The University of Oklahoma quickly issued a statement in full support of Fulnecky, confirming that Curth's grade for the essay will not stand.

It read, in part:

“The University of Oklahoma takes seriously concerns involving First Amendment rights, certainly including religious freedoms."

That line alone is laughable, because the First Amendment protects free speech against limitations imposed by governments.

A failing grade does not constitute a limitation on free speech in the first place, but even if it did, Curth and the University of Oklahoma are not a government. This is quite literally not how conservatives' beloved Constitution works.

The statement went on to say that the school had initiated a "grade appeals process" to make sure Fulnecky would suffer "no academic harm" before validating her claim of "illegal discrimination on the basis of religious beliefs" by placing Curth on leave.

"The graduate student instructor has been placed on administrative leave pending the finalization of this process."

"To ensure fairness in the process, a full-time professor is serving as the course instructor for the remainder of the semester.”

The uproar and especially the University's response has sparked outrage among many online.

For a group of people who supposedly hate "cancel culture" and love "personal responsibility," conservative Christians sure do seem to love cancel culture and hate personal responsibility.