University Of Oklahoma Student Protests Failing Grade On Gender Essay

A psychology instructor at the University of Oklahoma is on leave after a student accused them of religious discrimination. 

According to The New York Times, junior Samantha Fulnecky filed a complaint against the instructor after receiving a failing grade on an essay about gender identity. Students were assigned a scholarly article about “gender typicality, peer relations, and mental health,” and then were asked to write a “thoughtful discussion of some aspect of the article.” 

The instructor wrote that Fulnecky’s 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.” 

Fulnecky’s essay largely used the Bible as the primary source of her argument. “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,” Fulnecky wrote. 

“I strongly disagree with the idea from the article that encouraging acceptance of diverse gender expressions could improve students’ confidence,” she added. Another highlight of Fulnecky’s argument is when she wrote “the lie that there are multiple genders” is “demonic.” 

So if we’re viewing this through an academic lens, Fulnecky’s argument is already worth discounting by the simple fact that, scientifically, there are multiple genders. Heck, some intersex people were born with certain chromosomal or reproductive irregularities that effectively make them nonbinary on a biological level. She contradicts herself by acknowledging that men and women exist, but then calls the concept of multiple genders a demonic lie. 

I find this whole situation simply baffling because when I was in college, I simply assumed that using the Bible in any academic class that isn’t religious studies is a no-go. Unless the Bible is the subject of the class, why would you assume that it’s an appropriate text to cite? Christianity is a belief system that is rooted in faith, not objective fact, and certainly not science. Samantha Fulnecky’s paper is the equivalent of arguing the existence of time travel in a quantum mechanics essay and using “Avengers: Endgame” as your source text. Sure, the movie is a banger, but no one would mistake it for an academic work. 

Well, I guess I can’t say no one, because people like Samantha Fulnecky do exist. 

After receiving the failing grade, Fulnecky filed a complaint with the University of Oklahoma, claiming she was the victim of religious discrimination. She also reached out to the chief executive of Teacher Freedom Alliance and noted weirdo Ryan Walters. “Samantha Fulnecky is an American hero,” Walters said in a statement. He added that anyone involved in giving her the zero should be fired. 

The instructor was placed on academic leave while the university began the formal grade appeal process, which “resulted in steps to ensure no academic harm to the student from the graded assignment.”

While many conservatives have come out in support of Fulnecky, there has been pushback. “You have to pass students who only cite religious faith for their opinions now, or they’re victims of discrimination,” Richard Hanania, a conservative political scientist and writer, posted on social media.

If the instructor loses their job or faces significant repercussions for giving Samantha Fulnecky a zero, that sets a chilling precedent. I don’t know how you read the phrase “heavily uses personal ideology over empirical evidence in a scientific class,” and find that it’s religious discrimination. 

Samantha Fulnecky was not discriminated against for her faith; she received a failing grade because she didn’t follow the proper academic framework. I just think it’s kinda funny how the “facts don’t care about your feelings” people are now in their feelings when faced with facts. 

Couldn’t be me. 

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