A graduate instructor who failed a student for citing the Bible in a paper will no longer be allowed to teach at the University of Oklahoma.
School officials said Monday they determined that the transgender teaching assistant was acting ‘arbitrarily’ when she gave Samantha Fulnecky, a junior psychology student, a failing grade on an opinion-based paper.
The instructor, previously identified as Mel Curth, who uses ‘she/they’ pronouns, had earlier been placed on administrative leave as Fulnecky’s essay went viral and she gained national support for her paper referencing the Bible.
The college student had claimed she was being discriminated against due to her religion, and she filed a grade appeal and made a formal claim of illegal religious discrimination.
Fulnecky then secured a victory earlier this month, when university officials announced that the failing grade would not affect her final mark for the class.
After investigating her discrimination claim, university officials said on Monday, they have also decided to prevent Curth from teaching any more courses at the school.
School officials said Curth was acting ‘arbitrarily’ when she gave Samantha Fulnecky, a junior psychology student, (pictured) a failing grade on an opinion-based paper
University officials have previously ruled that the failing grade would not affect Fulnecky’s final mark for the class
‘Based on an examination of the graduate teaching assistant’s prior grading standards and patterns, as well as the graduate teaching assistant’s own statements related to this matter, it was determined that the graduate teaching assistant was arbitrary in the grading of this specific paper,’ university officials said in a statement.
‘The graduate teaching assistant will no longer have instructional duties at the university,’ they said.
The school officials went on to claim they had ‘repeated and detailed conversations with the Faculty Senate Executive Committee’ prior to making the decision.
‘The University of Oklahoma believes strongly in both its faculty’s right to teach with academic freedom and integrity and its students’ right to receive an education that is free from a lecturer’s impermissible evaluative standards,’ school officials said.
‘We are committed to teaching students how to think, not what to think,’ they added.
‘The university will continue to review best practices to ensure that its instructors have the comprehensive training necessary to objectively assess their students’ work without limiting their ability to teach, inspire and elevate our next generation.’
Curth had asked students to write a 650-word response to an academic article examining whether conformity to gender norms was associated with popularity or bullying among middle school students.
In her essay, Fulnecky did not mention the title of the article, and there were several grammatical and punctuation errors as she shot down the idea that there are more than two genders as being ‘demonic,’ KFOR reports.
As her plight gained national attention, Fulnecky was awarded a Citation of Recognition from the Oklahoma House of Representatives’ 98th District for ‘speaking from a foundation of truth,’ Representative Gabe Woolley announced
She said the Bible supported her belief that eliminating gender would prove to be ‘detrimental’ because it would put humans ‘farther from God’s original plan’.
Curth deemed the paper ‘offensive’ and said Fulnecky should have cited ’empirical evidence.’
‘To call an entire group of people “demonic” is highly offensive, especially a minoritized population,’ wrote Curth, who uses she/they pronouns
The feedback also implored Fulnecky to ‘apply some more perspective and empathy in your work’.
‘You can say that strict gender norms don’t create gender stereotypes, but that isn’t true by definition of what a stereotype is,’ she argued. ‘Please note that acknowledging gender stereotypes does not immediately denote a negative connotation, a nuance this article discusses.’
Fulnecky was left stunned by the feedback, telling The Oklahoman that she asked the instructor to reconsider the grade, which they refused to do.
Speaking out since the mark was given to her, she said she believed she was failed just for citing the Bible.
‘To be what I think is clearly discriminated against for my beliefs and using freedom of speech, and especially for my religious beliefs, I think that’s just absurd’, she said.
The psychology student argued that the mark was a direct attack on her First Amendment right to free speech, adding: ‘I have to advocate for myself and try to get my grade back.
The college student had claimed she was being discriminated against due to her religion, and filed a grade appeal and made a formal claim of illegal religious discrimination
‘But also just raise awareness for freedom of speech violations and religious discrimination because that is so clearly what’s going on.’
In her essay she said: ‘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.’
She continued: ‘He intentionally created women differently than men and we should live our lives with that in mind.’
The article she was asked to respond to argued that gender-atypical kids have to deal with more teasing, which impacts their mental health.
Fulnecky said she didn’t agree with that assessment, saying she ‘did not necessarily see this as a problem’.
She also said that she disagreed with the original article’s argument that encouraging the existence of multiple genders would improve students’ confidence.
Fulnecky added: ‘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.’
As her plight gained national attention, Fulnecky was awarded a Citation of Recognition from the Oklahoma House of Representatives’ 98th District for ‘speaking from a foundation of truth,’ Representative Gabe Woolley announced.
‘With all the political noise and media distractions set aside, the truth was finally able to stand on its own,’ he argued.
Woolley has since celebrated the news of Curth’s ouster on social media.
‘As I said from the beginning, this individual should never have been employed at a public university – particularly in a human sciences role – when he rejects the fundamental biological reality that there are two genders,’ he wrote Monday.
But not everyone was happy with the ruling.
‘Essentially, nothing is new here. OU claims without providing any supporting or specific reasons why Mel Curth was removed,’ a spokesperson for the university’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors told KFOR.
Fulnecky shot down the idea there was more than two genders as being ‘demonic’ and cited the religious text
‘They have claimed in the past in press releases that this was due to supposed and disturbing claims of “religious discrimination” that clash with academic freedom. Is it now?
‘Instead, they hide behind vague statements and essentially assertions of “trust us.”
‘At this point, they need to show us and not tell us. And once again, OU is making an employment decision public, which is inflaming the situation.’
Curth’s attorney, Brittany Stewart, also told The Oklahoman she plans to appeal the decision.
‘My client, Mel Curth, received notification from the University of Oklahoma that an investigation determined that she engaged in arbitrary grading of a student’s paper,’ Stewart said.
‘Ms. Curth continues to deny that she engaged in any arbitrary behavior regarding the student’s work and is considering all of her legal remedies, including appealing this decision by the university.’
Read more on Daily Mail Online
