A Christian pre-med student has gone viral in recent days for filing a religious discrimination complaint with the University of Oklahoma after a trans-identified teaching assistant allegedly flunked her for an essay stating that gender ideology is “demonic.”
Samantha Fulnecky, a junior at the University of Oklahoma who is majoring in psychology, received a zero out of 25 for a 650-word opinion essay she was told to write in her “Lifespan Development” class in response to an article about social gender expectations, according to The Oklahoman.
According to a copy of her essay published by the local outlet, Fulnecky asserted that God created two distinct genders with different roles, and that the idea of changing one’s gender is a satanic assault against that design.
“I strongly disagree with the idea from the article that encouraging acceptance of diverse gender expressions could improve students’ confidence,” she wrote. “Society pushing the lie that there are multiple genders and everyone should be what they want to be is demonic and severely harms American youth.”
Graduate teaching assistant William “Mel” Curth, who uses “she/they” pronouns, took apparent offense at Fulnecky’s claims in the essay, and was especially upset at her use of the word “demonic” to describe gender ideology.
“To call an entire group of people ‘demonic’ is highly offensive, especially a minoritized population,” Curth reportedly wrote in an online grading portal.
“Please note that I am not deducting points because you have certain beliefs, but instead I am deducting point [sic] for you posting a reaction paper that 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,” Curth also said.
“I implore you [to] apply some more perspective and empathy in your work,” Curth added.
Fulnecky subsequently filed a religious discrimination complaint with the school, and her situation drew widespread attention after it went viral on social media last week. Among those who weighed in were Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who said he had gotten involved in the case on behalf of academic freedom.
“The [First] Amendment is foundational to our freedom [and] inseparable from a well rounded education,” he posted to X on Sunday. “The situation at OU is deeply concerning. I’m calling on the OU regents to review the results of the investigation [and] ensure other students aren’t unfairly penalized for their beliefs.”
The University of Oklahoma issued a statement the same day, in which they announced that the school was investigating the incident.
Statement from the University of Oklahoma: pic.twitter.com/5YWBfyW9u0
— University of Oklahoma (@UofOklahoma) November 30, 2025
“The University of Oklahoma takes seriously concerns involving First Amendment rights, certainly including religious freedoms,” the school said.
“Upon receiving notice from the student on the grading of an assignment, the University immediately began a full review of the situation and has acted swiftly to address the matter.”
The school noted that Fulnecky’s formal grade appeals process “resulted in steps to ensure no academic harm to the student from the graded assignments,” and that Curth had been placed on administrative leave and replaced with a full-time professor.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
