Mel Curth essay row: OU issues statement as TPUSA backs student whose Bible-based gender essay got zero

The University of Oklahoma has issued a statement amid a row over a student who got a zero in a psychology paper on gender after citing the Bible. Samantha Fulnecky, had to write a 650-word essay for her psychology course, reacting to an article on how people are perceived based on societal gender expectations.

Citing the Bible, she argued that traditional gender roles shouldn't be considered as stereotypes. Failing the student, instructor Mel Curth wrote “To call an entire group of people 'demonic' is highly offensive, especially a minoritized population,” on the online grading platform.

Fulnecky found support from the Oklahoma chapter of Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA, who shared what she'd been through. “We at Turning Point OU stand with Samantha. We should not be letting mentally ill professors around students,” TPUSA Oklahoma wrote on X.

“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. Kuddos to Samantha for leading by example and standing up for what she believes in. @UofOklahoma , do better!,” they added.

Now, the university has responded by issuing a statement.

The university, in a statement shared on social media, said: “The University of Oklahoma takes seriously concerns involving First Amendment rights, certainly including religious freedoms. Upon receiving notice from the student on the grading of an assignment, the University immediately began a full review of the situation and has acted swiftly to address the matter.”

It went on to detail the steps that had been taken, and were being taken to deal with the situation.

“First, the college acted immediately to address the academic issue raised by the student. College leaders contacted her on the day her letter was received and have maintained regular communication throughout the process. As previously stated, a formal grade appeals process was conducted. The process resulted in steps to ensure no academic harm to the student from the graded assignments,” they wrote.

OU added, “Second, the student reported filing a claim of illegal discrimination based on religious beliefs to the appropriate university office. OU has a clear process for reviewing such claims and it has been activated. 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.”

They concluded the message asserting their commitment to 'fairness, respect and protecting every student's right to express sincerely held religious beliefs.'

While TPUSA Oklahoma made it a issue of Fulnecky's voice being silenced, Curth's feedback – which they have attached themselves, tell a different story.

“She received zero points out of 25 on the essay. Transgender professor, Mel Curtis, said Ms. Fulnecky, failed to use empirical evidence/and called parts of her essay offensive,” TPUSA wrote about the situation.

However, the feedback they attached shows Curth telling Fulnecky specifically that her points were not being deducted for ‘certain beliefs’ but for a ‘reaction paper that does not answer the questions for the assignment, contradicts itself, heavily uses personal ideology over empirical evidence in a scientific class, and is at times offensive.’

Megan Waldron, who also takes psychology classes and was the other instructor for the course, concurred with Curth's assessment, telling the student ‘in an academic course such as this you are being asked to support your ideas with empirical evidence and higher-level reasoning’.

Sharing the essay as well, TPUSA Oklahoma stated “It's time for conservatives to take a stand and show teachers that we will not be intimidated for sharing conservative or Christian beliefs on assignments any longer.”

They called for Curth to be fired over the grade. As per Rate My Professors (RMP), a review site that has been around since 1999, Curth has a 4.2 out of 5 rating, with comments indicating she's a ‘kind’ and ‘fair’ instructor.

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