University of Oklahoma fires teaching assistant after zero grade scandal

Weeks after a University of Oklahoma student’s story about failing a class for a newspaper promoting her Christian faith sparked a viral uproar, the teaching assistant at the back of the classroom has been fired.

“Based on a review of the graduate teaching assistant’s previous grading standards and patterns, as well as the graduate teaching assistant’s own statements regarding this matter, it was determined that the graduate teaching assistant was arbitrary in the grading of this specific essay,” the state’s flagship school said in a statement Monday evening. he said. “The graduate teaching assistant will no longer have a teaching position at the University.”

Samantha Fulnecky, a junior at the school, received a zero out of 25 on an assignment in which she referenced the Bible after graduate teaching assistant William “Mel” Curth, who used he/they pronouns, scored the assignment.

The teaching assistant tasked Fulnecky and her classmates with writing a response to a scientific paper titled “Relationships Between Gender Typicality, Peer Relationships, and Mental Health During Early Adolescence,” which discussed the results of a study on gender norms among middle school students and the social consequences children may face for not conforming to gender norms.

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They were asked to provide “a thoughtful discussion of some aspect of the paper.” The assignment’s rubric did not require students to provide empirical evidence in their answers.

The third grader responded by saying that gender norms should be celebrated, not belittled. He cited Genesis, the first book of the Bible, which explains that God created men and women equally but for different purposes.

“Gender roles and orientations should not be viewed as ‘stereotypes,'” Fulnecky wrote in her article. “Women naturally want to do feminine things because God created us with feminine desires in our hearts. The same goes for men. God created men in the image of His courage and strength, and women in the image of His beauty. He consciously created women to be different from men, and we must live our lives with that in mind.”

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Students walk across campus between classes at the University of Oklahoma on March 11, 2015 in Norman, Oklahoma. (Brett Deering/Getty Images)

She later described the societal pressure towards non-binary gender identity as “diabolical.”

Curth took exception to Fulnecky’s article and gave it zero out of 25.

“Please note that I am not deducting points for having certain beliefs, but instead deducting points. [sic] “For posting a reaction paper that does not answer the questions of this assignment, contradicts itself, makes heavy use of personal ideology rather than empirical evidence in a scientific course, and is at times offensive,” Curth’s description of the grade read.

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The concept of only two genders is not supported by science, Curth said.

“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 recognizes that biologically and psychologically, sex and gender are neither binary nor fixed,” Curth said.

OU student Samantha Fulnecky with her Bible at Oklahoma Memorial Union, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (Doug Hoke/Imagn Images via Oklahoman/USA Today Network)

The graduate teaching assistant also called Fulnecky’s article “deeply offensive.”

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Amid the uproar, Fulnecky told Fox News Digital: “I definitely think I’m being punished for what I believe because I very clearly stated my beliefs in my response to my article, and I stated not just my beliefs, but what the Bible and God say about gender and those roles.”

Curth was placed on administrative leave after the student filed a discrimination claim while the university conducted an investigation.

In its statement announcing Curth’s dismissal, the university said that the school principal, described as the “highest academic official”, personally reviewed the incident before the decision to fire Curth was made.

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“As this matter involves both student and faculty rights, the University has had repeated and detailed discussions with the Faculty Senate Board of Directors to ensure an understanding of the facts, process, and actions taken,” the statement said. The statement was included.

The essay grade at the University of Oklahoma caused an uproar. (Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

The school also noted that Fulnecky’s grade had been corrected.

“The University of Oklahoma believes strongly in both the right of its faculty members to teach with academic freedom and integrity and the right of its students to receive an education free from faculty impermissible standards of evaluation. We are committed to teaching students how to think, not what to think. The University will continue to review best practices to ensure that its instructors have the comprehensive training necessary to objectively evaluate their students’ work without limiting their ability to teach, inspire, and elevate our next generation.”