Overview
- Samantha Fulnecky received 0 out of 25 on a 650‑word reaction paper after citing the Bible and calling belief in multiple genders “demonic.”
- The grader, graduate teaching assistant William “Mel” Curth, said the essay did not answer the prompt, relied on ideology over evidence, and was at times offensive; a second instructor reportedly concurred.
- OU says a formal grade appeal is complete and the two contested assignments are excluded from Fulnecky’s final grade to avoid academic harm.
- The graduate instructor has been placed on administrative leave and the course reassigned to a full‑time professor pending the outcome of the review.
- The dispute went viral after TPUSA’s OU chapter posted the essay and feedback, drawing statements from Gov. Kevin Stitt and a planned campus protest in support of educators on Friday.