Trans college instructor put on leave after failing student’s ‘offensive’ essay that quoted Bible
The student complained her free speech had been violated (Canva)
The student complained her free speech had been violated (Canva)
Trans graduate assistant Mel Curth has been removed from her position at the University of Oklahoma after a Christian student complained a failing grade she received in a psychology essay – because she cited the Bible rather than empirical evidence – was a violation of her right to free speech.
As first reported by The Oklahoman in November, junior Samantha Fulnecky said she was asked to write a 650-word essay reacting to an article about how people are perceived based on societal expectations of gender.
Fulnecky said in her essay that traditional gender roles should not be seen as stereotypes and cited the Bible as evidence, stating that removing the concept of gender from society would be “detrimental” because it would put 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, adding in the essay: “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.”
The instructor, Mel Curth – who received an Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award from the university’s psychology department earlier this year – allegedly gave Fulnecky 0 out of 25 marks because she did not use empirical evidence and labelled parts of her essay offensive.
In her feedback to the assignment – screenshots of which were shared by the university’s chapter of Turning Point USA on X in a post that derided Curth – the graduate assistant explicitly told Fulnecky she was “not deducting points because you have certain beliefs” but because her work “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”.
Trans Professors response to Samantha’s essay pic.twitter.com/wQRlC6fCEy
— TPUSA_OU (@TurningPointOU) November 27, 2025
Curth wrote: “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.”
“Additionally, to call an entire group of people “demonic” is highly offensive, especially a minoritized population,” Curth continued later in her feedback. “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 graduate assistant concluded by urging Fulnecky to “apply some more perspective and empathy in your work”, adding: “If you personally disagree with the findings, then by all means share your criticisms, but make sure to do so in a way that is appropriate and using the methodology of empirical psychology, as aligned with the learning goals in this class.”
In further feedback provided by the other instructor on the course, Megan Waldron, there was agreement that Fulnecky did not appropriately complete the assignment.
Waldron wrote: “Everyone has different ways in which they see the world, but in an academic course such as this you are being asked to support your ideas with empirical evidence and higher-level reasoning. I find it concerning that you state at the beginning of your paper that you do not think bullying (“teasing”) is a bad thing.
“In addition, your paper directly and harshly criticizes your peers and their opinions, which are just as valuable as yours. Disagreeing with others is fine, but there is a respectful way to go about it. That goes for discussion posts as well as reaction papers.”
Fulnecky said she asked Curth to reconsider the grade and claimed she stayed within the essay’s requirements, which apparently did not explicitly include citing empirical evidence. She was denied.
Fulnecky felt she had been failed because she cited the Bible and made clear her religious beliefs and emailed university leaders with a complaint regarding her mark, subsequently filing a discrimination claim against Curth.
“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,” Fulnecky told The Oklahoman in November.
Statement from the University of Oklahoma: pic.twitter.com/5YWBfyW9u0
— University of Oklahoma (@UofOklahoma) November 30, 2025
In response to her complaint, the University of Oklahoma announced last week that it placed Curth on administrative leave, saying it “takes seriously concerns involving First Amendment rights, certainly including religious freedoms”.
In a statement, the university said following Fulnecky’s complaint it “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,” the statement reads.
“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.”
The University of Oklahoma added it “remains firmly committed to fairness, respect and protecting every student’s right to express sincerely held religious beliefs”.
In response to Turning Point USA’s posts about Fulnecky’s complaint, anti-trans activist Chris Elston wrote: “Individuals who identify as trans should be automatically disqualified from holding any position as teacher or professor.”
Fulnecky’s mother, Kristi Fulnecky – who has defended those involved in the 6 January Capitol riot in court – agreed, writing: “Agreed! Proud of my daughter!”
She also reposted an X post from another conservative pundit, which labelled being trans a “mental illness” and stated trans folks should be “banned from working in any school”.
