By Addison Kliewer
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NORMAN, Oklahoma (KOCO) — A University of Oklahoma student is in the national spotlight for claiming religious discrimination after she failed a psychology essay.
Samantha Fulnecky, a junior at OU, received a zero on an assignment, asking students to react to an article on gender roles. After receiving her grade, she filed a complaint with the university.
What we know
Samantha Fulnecky, a junior at OU, referenced the Bible throughout a 650-word assignment, asking her to react to an article over gender roles for a psychology class
The graduate teaching instructor gave Fulnecky a zero on the assignment, saying she did not follow the guidelines. The instructor also called the article “at times offensive”
A second instructor for the course agreed with the grade, saying the assignment was not followed
The instructor is on administrative leave
The university said the essay will not count toward Fulnecky’s final grade
Who is Samantha Fulnecky?
Fulnecky is a junior at OU. She is from Nixa, Missouri, according to a biography on OU Women’s Tennis page. She was listed on the Women’s Tennis roster for the 2024-25 season.
She spoke to KOCO 5 after filing the complaint against the professor.
“I gave my opinion, and, not just my opinion, but that’s like the Bible says that God created male and female, and anything that’s not from God, is glorifying to God, is glorifying to the enemy,” Fulnecky said.
Fulnecky said she reached out to the teaching assistant to reconsider the grade before filing a formal complaint with the university.
“It’s that I think I should have gotten 100. I’ve gotten 100 on every single essay in this class, and I write them all the same—exactly the same. The TA has never had a problem with how I write my papers in this class. So, it has nothing to do with the title, or grammar, or how I write, or anything like that,” Fulnecky said.
What did the essay say?
OU’s Chapter of Turning Point USA posted screenshots of Fulnecky’s essay. Read it below:
“This article was very thought provoking and caused me to thoroughly evaluate the idea of gender and the role it plays in our society. The article discussed peers using teasing as a way to enforce gender norms. I do not necessarily see this as a problem. God made male and female and made us differently from each other on purpose and for a purpose. God is very intentional with what He makes, and I believe trying to change that would only do more harm. 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. He intentionally created women differently than men and we should live our lives with that in mind. It is frustrating to me when I read articles like this and discussion posts from my classmates of so many people trying to conform to the same mundane opinion, so they do not step on people’s toes. I think that is a cowardly and insincere way to live. It is important to use the freedom of speech we have been given in this country, and I personally believe that eliminating gender in our society would be detrimental, as it pulls us farther from God’s original plan for humans. It is perfectly normal for kids to follow gender “stereotypes” because that is how God made us. The reason so many girls want to feel womanly and care for others in a motherly way is not because they feel pressured to fit into social norms. It is because God created and chose them to reflect His beauty and His compassion in that way. In Genesis, God says that it is not good for man to be alone, so He created a helper for man (which is a woman). Many people assume the word “helper” in this context to be condescending and offensive to women. However, the original word in Hebrew is “ezer kenegdo” and that directly translates to “helper equal to”. Additionally, God describes Himself in the Bible using “ezer kenegdo”, or “helper”, and He describes His Holy Spirit as our Helper as well. This shows the importance God places on the role of the helper (women’s roles). God does not view women as less significant than men. He created us with such intentionally and care and He made women in his image of being a helper, and in the image of His beauty. If leaning into that role means I am “following gender stereotypes” then I am happy to be following a stereotype that aligns with the gifts and abilities God gave me as a woman.
Rubric and assignment requirements
On the essay rubric, the grading was based on whether there was an understanding of the article, whether it was a clear reaction, and whether the main ideas were organized in a coherent discussion.
The assignment was worth 25 points.
The grade
The graduate instructor, who did not wish the comment on the story, said the essay did not follow the assignment guidelines and was “at times offensive.” The instructor said it lacked empirical evidence.
“Please note that I am not deducting points because you have certain beliefs, but instead I am deducting points for you posting a reaction paper that 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,” the instructor said in the grading comments, according to screenshots posted by OU’s Turning Point USA chapter.
“While you are entitled to your own personal beliefs, there is an appropriate time or place to implement them in your reflections. I encourage all students to question or challenge the course material with other empirical findings or testable hypotheses, but using your own personal beliefs to argue against the findings of not only this article, but the findings of countless articles across psychology, biology, sociology, etc. is not best practice”
The instructor also responded to Fulnecky’s claims that society pushing the idea of multiple genders is “demonic.”
“Additionally, to call an entire group of people “demonic” is highly offensive, especially a minoritized population. You are entitled to your own beliefs, but this isn’t a vague narrative of “society pushes lies,” but instead the result of countless years developing psychological and scientific evidence for these claims and directly interacting with the communities involved. You may personally disagree with this, but that doesn’t change the fact that every major psychological, medical, pediatric, and psychiatric association in the United States acknowledges that, biologically and psychologically, sex and gender is neither binary nor fixed,” the instructor, who is a transgender woman, commented.
Fulnecky told KOCO that she did not mean for the “demonic” comments to be offensive.
A second instructor for the course also commented on the essay, saying they agreed with the grade given to Fulnecky.
“This paper should not be considered as a completion of the assignment,” said the second instructor’s comments, according to screenshots from Turning Point USA.
OU’s investigation
When Fulnecky received zero out of 25 points on the assignment, filed a complaint against OU, claiming her religious freedom was violated.
The instructor was placed on administrative leave. The university confirmed to KOCO that the essay would not count toward Fulnecky’s final grade.
On Saturday, the university released a statement on the issue:
“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. 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. 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. OU remains firmly committed to fairness, respect and protecting every student’s right to express sincerely held religious beliefs.” Michael Givel, a professor of political science at the University of Oklahoma, described the situation as unusual, with many unknowns and questions surrounding the process.
“If I started advertising why I gave a grade to a student, I would be in hot water, under federal privacy laws at OU,” Givel said.
Givel noted that the university’s public statement over the weekend regarding the graduate teaching assistant’s administrative leave was out of the ordinary.
“The tweet on Sunday evening is highly unusual and frankly concerning that OU is tweeting about a personnel decision about the GTA,” he said.
Public’s response
The situation has sparked debate from the public and leaders, including Gov. Kevin Stitt, who described the situation as “deeply concerning.”
Former State Superintendent Ryan Walters also shared his reaction in a video played at a luncheon for Original Constitutional Principles Affecting Culture Foundation.
“What a rockstar she is. What an absolute American hero, standing up for her Christian faith,” Walters said. “Everybody involved with this situation who did this to Samantha should be fired immediately. It’s not tough—it’s called the First Amendment, it’s called academics, it’s called a taxpayer university.”
Meanwhile, a protest march is scheduled to take place on OU’s campus Friday at noon, with a flyer on Signed Oklahoma’s Instagram calling to “protect our educators.” Attempts to reach Signed Oklahoma for comment have not yet been successful.
Is legal action possible?
Attorney Ed Blau told KOCO that he did not see basis for a lawsuit against the university on behalf of Fulnecky.
“Long story short, there’s no constitutional guarantee to an A. There’s just not,”said Blau. “This student is claiming discrimination based on her religion due to the grade that she received on this paper. But let’s flip it around a little bit. Is the university violating their professor’s constitutional rights and First Amendment rights by suspending her because she gave a student a certain grade? But the road goes both directions.”
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