A student at the University of Oklahoma received zero points on an essay about how people are perceived based on societal expectations of gender after she cited the Bible in her assignment.
Samantha Fulnecky wrote the paper for a psychology course, highlighting how traditional Christian values play into beliefs about multiple genders. The psychology course instructor, Mel Curth, failed Fulnecky, arguing she did not address the prompt and relied on “personal ideology” over “empirical evidence.”
According to the TPUSA OU chapter, Fulnecky’s essay stated that traditional gender roles should not be considered stereotypes because “that is how God made us.” She cited the Bible and argued that eliminating gender in society would be “detrimental” since it puts people “farther from God’s original plan for humans.”
“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,” Fulnecky wrote. “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.”
Curth failed the assignment on the grounds that it lacked empirical evidence and was offensive, according to The Oklahoman. Curth found that Fulnecky’s points were “at times offensive,” adding, “To call an entire group of people ‘demonic’ is highly offensive, especially a minoritized population.”
“You can say that strict gender norms don’t create gender stereotypes, but that isn’t true by definition of what a stereotype is. Please note that acknowledging gender stereotypes does not immediately denote a negative connotation, a nuance this article discusses,” Curth wrote.
Fulnecky argued the assignment did not instruct students to cite empirical evidence and believes she was failed because she cited the Bible.
Following the incident, the university announced Sunday that the graduate instructor had been placed on administrative leave.
“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,” a statement from the university read.
