University of Oklahoma – Samantha Fulnecky

Summary

On November 25, 2025, University of Oklahoma psychology student Samantha Fulnecky submitted a reaction paper for a psychology course assignment on societal gender roles. The assignment asked students to respond to an article about how people are perceived based on societal expectations of gender. The graduate teaching assistant for the course graded the paper and gave it a zero out of 25 points, stating that the essay did not meet the assignment’s requirements, relied on personal ideology rather than evidence from the article, lacked engagement with the assigned material, and included language the grader considered highly offensive to transgender individuals.

Fulnecky’s essay drew from the Bible, stating that men and women were created with distinct roles according to God’s plan. One sentence read, “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 said that according to the Bible, if Christians are not doing something that glorifies God, they are doing something that glorifies the enemy, and that was her intended meaning of the word “demonic.” She requested that the instructor reconsider the grade, noting that the assignment did not require students to cite empirical evidence.

Following the grade, Fulnecky filed a formal complaint alleging religious discrimination. She argued that citing the Bible should have been acceptable and that the zero grade reflected bias against her faith. In response, the university placed the graduate assistant on administrative leave while investigating the complaint and stated it would review the grade through formal channels. University officials emphasized that the grade reflected academic standards and was not directed at religious beliefs.

The essay and the ensuing controversy received widespread attention on social media, where posts about Fulnecky’s paper went viral. Fulnecky said she is a member of the University of Oklahoma chapter of Turning Point USA, a national conservative student organization, and that the chapter’s president helped share her story online, contributing to its broad reach. Elected officials, including state legislators and members of Congress, issued statements supporting Fulnecky, describing the situation as a potential violation of religious freedom and urging the university to address her complaint. Other commentators noted that psychology assignments require engagement with evidence and scholarly sources, and that personal or religious beliefs alone do not meet assignment criteria.

Following a formal grade appeal, Fulnecky stated on December 3, 2025, that her failing marks on the essay would not count toward her final course grade. University officials confirmed that the review had been completed and resulted in steps to ensure no academic harm to the student from the graded assignments. The university noted that the essay and a related assignment would have counted for 3% of her final grade but were excluded following the appeal.

Advocates for Fulnecky emphasized that students should be able to express faith-based viewpoints, while university officials and instructors emphasized that the assignment rubric required analysis grounded in the assigned article. The graduate assistant remained on administrative leave throughout the investigation, and the university reaffirmed its commitment to fairness, respect, and protecting students’ rights to express sincerely held religious beliefs.

As of December 3, 2025, the university continued to review Fulnecky’s discrimination complaint.