Sometimes, students earn a failing grade. I hand back essays or exams with zeroes on them, and inform students that they aren’t passing the course…and suggest that we meet so we can work out the problem. At the end of the semester I might log into the Peoplesoft database and put an F in a little square box, and the students are clear about who’s putting the black blot on their transcript — it’s me, not them. So I still worry that they might hate me or take action with the administration to get me in trouble. It’s part of the job.
Sometimes you have to evaluate a student’s performance, and sometimes they fail. And now we have a new generation of entitled and ignorant students that think they can just go over the instructor’s head to demand that their biases get approval.
The University of Oklahoma has placed a trans graduate instructor on administrative leave after a student received a zero on a psychology assignment that described transgender people as “demonic” and asserted that gender roles are “Biblically ordained.” The dispute has quickly escalated into a statewide political flashpoint.
The controversy began when junior Samantha Fulnecky submitted a 650-word reaction paper for a course on how social expectations shape gender. Instead of addressing the assignment’s questions using data, her essay claimed society is “pushing lies” about gender, warned that eliminating strict gender roles would be harmful, and described transgender identities as “demonic,” Them reports.
You can read Fulnecky’s essay for yourself. It’s terrible. It might pass muster in Sunday School, but this was submitted to the University of Oklahoma, which has somewhat higher standards. It contains no data, unless you count quoting the Bible poorly as data (you shouldn’t). The central theme of the essay is that you shouldn’t question conservative interpretations of the the Bible.
I do not think men and women are pressured to be more masculine or feminine. I strongly
disagree with the idea from the article that encouraging acceptance of diverse gender expressions
could improve students’ confidence. Society pushing the lie that there are multiple genders and
everyone should be whatever they want to be is demonic and severely harms American youth. I
do not want kids to be teased or bullied in school. However, pushing the lie that everyone has
their own truth and everyone can do whatever they want and be whoever they want is not biblical
whatsoever. The Bible says that our lives are not our own but that our lives and bodies belong to
the Lord for His glory. I live my life based on this truth and firmly believe that there would be
less gender issues and insecurities in children if they were raised knowing that they do not
belong to themselves, but they belong to the Lord.
The TA’s evaluation was spot on, and Mel Curth should have a bright future in academia, although maybe this experience will sour her on the career.
Graduate teaching assistant Mel Curth, who graded the paper, wrote that the zero was based on academic criteria, not retaliation for the student’s religious views. Curth wrote that the essay “does not answer the questions for this assignment, contradicts itself, heavily uses personal ideology over empirical evidence in a scientific class, and is at times offensive.” Curth also noted that portraying a marginalized group as “demonic” is “highly offensive,” and urged the student to use empirical sources rather than doctrinal statements when critiquing course material.
Does Fulnecky learn from this instruction? No. She immediately turned to Turning Point USA to advocate for her, filed a religious discrimination complaint with the university, and got the governor of Oklahoma to intervene. You’d think he has better things to do with his time.
The 1st Amendment is foundational to our freedom & inseparable from a well rounded education. The situation at OU is deeply concerning. I’m calling on the OU regents to review the results of the investigation & ensure other students aren’t unfairly penalized for their beliefs.
— Governor Kevin Stitt (@GovStitt) November 30, 2025
Fulnecky wasn’t penalized for her beliefs. She was penalized for not doing the assignment and using her biases instead of data.
The university has bent the knee and removed the TA from the class and put a full-time professor in charge (I wouldn’t want to be in their position — imagine taking over a class with cocky students who have learned that they can get rid of instructors who don’t give them the grade they want.)
Statement from the University of Oklahoma: pic.twitter.com/5YWBfyW9u0
— University of Oklahoma (@UofOklahoma) November 30, 2025
A state representative is demanding that Curth be fired.
To use academic power to punish or pressure a student simply because she stood firm in her faith and cited real science in her essay is not leadership. It is inappropriate, unacceptable, and should be investigated for discrimination.
The University of Oklahoma must address this. This individual should not be teaching in higher education — period.
Take another look at Fulnecky’s essay. Can you find where she cited any science?
I’m trying to avoid imagining a student in my genetics or evolution class complaining that a known atheist was teaching about stuff that contradicts their religious beliefs. It could happen, it has happened, but so far it’s always been confined to private meetings in my office, with me reassuring them that I don’t care what they do on a Sunday morning, but that the course content is well defined by the textbooks and the evidence.
And afterwards I thank God that I don’t live in Oklahoma.
If you care about getting a good education, don’t go to the University of Oklahoma. Go further north.
…And keep going north when you reach the Canadian border.
BTW Canada has just made a kind of Security deal with the European Union, now that Merica is unreliable.
EU passed over Britain, as they might get taken over by some other nut job (Farage?) when Starmer is done fucking up.
Well, reading this article has started off my day splendid. I’m going to the angry dome for a while.
It is Oklahoma.
The state that hates education.
Oklahoma is 49th in per capita funding of their schools.
AFAIK, the only reason Oklahoma has a university is to provide a stadium for its football team.
.1. Where was the university administration in all of this. They should have found a few vertebrae and their ovaries and said something.
.2. Where was the rest of the science faculty in all of this too?
I’m sure just keeping their heads down and hoping they don’t get fired.
In Bible times, men wore dresses.
Why do bigots like this even bother enrolling on degrees like Gender Studies, where they know they’re going to be presented with a body of academic knowledge that fundamentally contradicts their religious beliefs? That’s like going into a vegan restaurant and getting it shut down because they refuse to bring you beef. Aren’t there enough shitty bible colleges catering to their stupidity?
Those graduate students can and probably will eventually sue the university and the state of Oklahoma.
They should also sue that wannabe martyr as well. She is being deliberately evil and malicious.
FWIW, there have been numerous court cases on similar religious beliefs, i.e. the creationists ones. Here is a summary.
The tl;dr version is that you can’t pass off cult xian beliefs as science in science classes because that violates the First Amendment rule mandating separation of church and state.
I don’t see that this case is any difference except she is trying to pass off incoherent fundie xian gibberish as science in a science class.
Most likely she is a political activist and deliberately enrolled to cause trouble and get a few TAs fired.
It’s academic terrorism.
If the universities just start to fall apart every time this happens, it is going to start happening a lot more.
You don’t give in to terrorists without encouraging them and then expecting a lot more terrorism.
Ugh. I went to OU in late 80’s. It wasn’t that bad, especially compared to the smaller state schools there. My dad was a professor at NSU in tiny Tahlequah, OK. The Profs were OK, but the town was totally indoctrinated into the Xtian cult. Soon after graduation I managed to escape to PZ’s old home state of Washington. I rarely go back to visit relatives. Those that stayed say I am part of the problem by leaving, but life it too short to have to deal with that crap all the time.
Two possibilities:
1. This woman signed up for the course intentionally, to get famous in the TPUSA set for being a martyr.
2. She’s fucking stupid.
Or both. Neither alternative conflicts with the other.
It’s all very simple to explain:
In this country, the inmates are running the asylum!
Honesty and rationality are demonized by the drooling, evil magats that now own this country.
Oh, and using logic, this xtian terrorist student HAS NOT had their 1st amendment rights violated, they were perfectly free to spout their pseudp-biblical bullshit, it’s just that it does not satisfy the assignment. WTF
shermanj@11: Remember, right-wing xian wingnuts don’t understand the Constitution at all, they just invoke it as a means of being allowed to say and do whatever they wish without consequences.
“It could happen, it has happened, but so far it’s always been confined to private meetings in my office, with me reassuring them that I don’t care what they do on a Sunday morning, but that the course content is well defined by the textbooks and the evidence.”
Yes, but for how much longer until your administration decides that it’s better to avoid losing grant money and increased government scrutiny and bend to the Bible-fucker’s will? We’ve already seen more well-known institutions kowtow to MAGA’s will.
FFS, she didn’t even properly cite the bible. She mentions “Genesis”, but doesn’t give chapter and verse, doesn’t give a direct quote, doesn’t mention the edition or translation she’s working from, and doesn’t support any of her claims about that translation.
Even for a theological essay, it falls short of proper academic standards, never mind for a science class.
Forgive the repeated use to the word “will.” I just finished my final IT Service Management project and energy drink I consumed hasn’t kicked in yet.
This is her “God’s Not Dead” moment where she defeats the godless leftist instructor with Christian “truth.” I expect Kevin Sorbo and/or David A.R. White to be writing Fulnecky’s triumphant biopic right now to appear on PureFlix in the next couple of months.
I personally believe that she is a budding political activist and she did this intentionally. Her mother is a lawyer who was involved in defending some of the people involved in the January 6th insurrection and has some ties to a Canadian anti-trans activist that goes by the name Billboard Chris that has previously said that trans people shouldn’t be involved in teaching. So this seems to be her spring board to the right wing circuit and we can expect her to be the next Riley Gaines.
Some of America’s most successful businesses, come from international students who decided to start their business in the country where they received their post-secondary education. Stories such as this could very well encourage them to seek that education elsewhere, and starting their billion dollar ideas elsewhere. Even students who could easily pass themselves off as white Christian Americans would be encouraged to spare themselves the headaches.
The girl’s mother was involved in lawsuits over the Biden election being stolen.
Apparently the Governor of Oklahoma doesn’t understand that your 1st amendment rights are not being infringed by getting a zero on an essay assignment.
The student can have any religious beliefs, and obviously wrote a whole essay about them.
The college isn’t required to give them passing grades under the 1st amendment, but the Governor getting involved absolutely infringes on the TA’s rights.
The irony is mind bending.
Intentional is a strong possibility. This opens another crack in the science versus religion war in our educational institutions. This may take years to play out (in the courts) and if it reaches SCOTUS there is a chance professors will have to bend to this asinine assertion.
My answer is for the suspended professor to sue the college and the state of Oklahoma. Demand millions, no billions, an apology, back pay and numerous frivolous concessions (like a plaque posted in the college’s entrance). There needs to be a loud powerful response. It is no longer acceptable to sit back and let these xian right wingnuts set standards in the educational system. Wonder if the FRFF could be involved.
Why not just lean into it and put a ‘Trigger Warning: Assertion of religious beliefs will not get a passing grade here. Heresy will be required to pass this course.’ sign right there on the desk at sign up? I mean, if it’s going to be literally true anyway.
indianajones, because heresy refers to doctrinal deviation judged unacceptable by an established religious authority, and therefore implies a shared doctrine from which one deviates.
Academia is not a set of religious beliefs.
That’s why.
@John Morales:
Though the sorts of people being talked about here certainly speak and act like academia is a set of religious beliefs, and that’s who such a ‘warning’ would be aimed at anyway, right?
This may be because they’re grifters looking to turn their followers into an unthinking mob, or because they literally cannot conceive of a belief system that isn’t based on deference to authority.
Or both. Similar to what PZ says above, neither alternative really conflicts with the other.
[meta]
PZ, I know you utterly deprecate AI, but that first Gumbied quotation could use a linebreak massage.
(Just saying, it’s easy as to fix with a bot, rather than manually)
jenorafeuer, yes. Cargo-cult ‘science’, as I have put it. LARPing expertise.
Here, I reckon the claim ‘literally true’ probably triggered my retort given it was not. Thus the correction.
To be fair, I think indianajones’ sentiment is fair enough, but it had to be something like ‘methodological empiricism’ (naturalism is not apposite to the social sciences, because behaviour is an epiphenomenon).
But it was not.
To be charitable, I suspect it was but terminological insufficience.
It’s definitely also not good enough for Sunday school, as the passages she cites don’t actually support the arguments she’s making and in many cases actually contradict them. A serious school of divinity would also award a zero for this essay.
Morales. For reasons I have articulated and you have acknowleged here @ comment 44:
https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2025/06/04/how-pete-hegseth-celebrates-pride-month/comment-page-1/#comment-2267441
I m never directly addressing you except to tell you to fuck off as you are a disgrace to yourself and a stain on this community. Your picking at nits so trivial that they are sometimes made up by you of me and others is neither solicited nor welcome. Should I be wrong enough to require correction, others here can take care of it. You, on the other hand should find a short pier and some good long range walking shoes.
I am firmly convinced that your entire schtick is to time vampire my or others time. Always. ‘Waaahh, I only respond t people talking to me!’. Funny how often it ends up the same way then. 40% or more comments from you regarding a nit that you have introduced and WILL NOT in good faith discuss, frustration for whoever your interlocutor/s are.
Addressing me, by you, ever, is going to be a waste of your time. With some very rare exceptions, like this one, no matter what you say, how apposite or correct it is, from you to me the source is far too tainted to ever be taken seriously, or with any charity or good faith at all. Unless made explicitly clear, the only time I am ever talking to you, as opposed to warning people about you, you vampire lying in wait you, I am only ever telling you to fuck off you disgrace to yourself. You stain on this community.
It is too much to expect for you not to respond to this. So while you are going to waste your time doing it, and you are ALWAYS with vanishingly few exceptions going to be wasting your time responding in any way to me, you may as well answer, with one word that won’t be a waste, this question of mine: Do I make myself clear?
‘It is too much to expect for you not to respond to this. So while you are going to waste your time doing it, and you are ALWAYS with vanishingly few exceptions going to be wasting your time responding in any way to me, you may as well answer, with one word that won’t be a waste, this question of mine: Do I make myself clear?’
Neurotically.
“She immediately turned to Turning Point USA to advocate for her, filed a religious discrimination complaint with the university, and got the governor of Oklahoma to intervene. You’d think he has better things to do with his time.”
But as a believing Christian, she could appeal to a far higher Authority than a mere governor. So why didn’t she?
there’s already an executive order decreeing that diversity-equity-inclusion content is evil no-good hate speech, banned from any institution that receives federal funding. so unless “a course on how social expectations shape gender” is about socially expecting gender to stay cis by beating our kids, the class was a dead thing walking.
there was even a message distributed to all federal employees saying they could face penalties at work for not reporting DEI to the anti-woke police fast enough. i think the deadline was like ten days. these orders were the magic wand with which the civil rights movement has been completely reversed within the executive branch of the US government, soon to be followed in any other domain bearing its mushroom stamp.
this is the law of the land now. this is why all the liberal opposition crying “illegal” about their edicts is kind of a bad joke. they can make this shit stick. they can make it last until the US itself ceases to be, should they succeed. the legality of something is not a good metric for whether it is right or wrong.