She Deserved To Fail, But Not For Reasons Trans Instructor Thinks

Samantha Fulnecky wrote a mediocre essay. She allegedly received a failing grade — zero out of 25. 

Now, according to the University of Oklahoma, Fulnecky has filed a religious discrimination claim against her instructor. 

But Fulnecky’s complaint isn’t frivolous. Her short essay, posted by Turning Point USA’s University of Oklahoma (TPUSA OU) chapter, argues that “gender roles” are rooted in God’s plan for humanity. 

For a psychology course at the University Oklahoma, Samantha Fulnecky was asked to write a 650-word essay reacting to an article about how people are perceived based on societal expectations of gender.

In her essay, Fulnecky argued that traditional gender roles should not be… pic.twitter.com/R3J4FaGEtw

— TPUSA_OU (@TurningPointOU) November 27, 2025

“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 writes with imperfect syntax. As do, I would imagine, many of her classmates. But Fulnecky is writing in open defiance of Mel Curth, her transgender-identified professor. (RELATED: University Suspends Course On Non-Transition Treatments For Minors Minutes After Trans Activist Complaint)

TPUSA OA posted screenshots of Curth’s alleged response to the essay. Curth lists “She/They” pronouns. Curth appears to be male. 

“Please note that I am not deducting points because you have certain beliefs,” Curth’s response begins. 

Right. I’m sure. 

“… [I]nstead 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.”

The last item directly contradicts Curth’s first statement. There is no universally offensive statement. People with certain beliefs make statements. People with different beliefs take offense.

Here are the directions and rubric once again for those claiming Samantha got a failing grade because the paper was “bad” or didn’t cite empirical sources. No where in the directions does it say to use empirical sources, neither did the professor say that she failed due it being… pic.twitter.com/cK2kowrXp7

— TPUSA_OU (@TurningPointOU) December 1, 2025

Based on the directions for the assignment, Fulnecky appears to deserve at least 10 points for her response. The assignments were graded on a 25-point scale based on three questions, according to TPUSA OU. 

1. “Does the paper show a clear tie-in to the assigned article? (10 points)”
2. “Does the paper present a thoughtful reaction or response to the article, rather than a summary? (10 points)”
3. “Is the paper clearly written? (5 points)”

The instructions list “possible approaches” to the paper, including “a discussion of why you feel the topic is important and worthy of study (or not)” and “an application of the study or results to your own experiences.”

Fulnecky appears to have taken up the “or not” option. 

There appears to be no requirement to cite “empirical evidence,” yet Curth critiques Fulnecky on that ground. Fulnecky is clearly responding to the topic of gender and sex in a thoughtful manner, without the obvious use of ChatGPT. I sincerely doubt that the “pro trans” papers written with similarly middling prose received zero points. 

Curth lambasted Fulnecky for “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.”

Curth adds, “[E]very major psychological, medical, pediatric, and psychiatric association in the United States acknowledges that, biologically and psychologically, sex and gender is neither binary nor fixed.” 

In other words: “You HAVE to agree with me, because The Science™ says so!” 

Not so long ago, homosexuality was listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association. Institutional belief is fickle. But currently convenient for Curth’s argument. (RELATED: College Students Identifying As Trans And Non-Binary Absolutely Craters In Just Two Years)

Another instructor, named in a screenshot as Megan Waldron (“She/Her/Hers”), allegedly commented on Fulnecky’s essay: “I concur with Mel on the grade you received. This paper should not be considered as a completion of the assignment … Disagreeing with others is fine, but there is a respectful way to go about it.” 

Statement from the University of Oklahoma: pic.twitter.com/5YWBfyW9u0

— University of Oklahoma (@UofOklahoma) November 30, 2025

The University of Oklahoma claims Curth “has been placed on administrative leave” as of Nov. 30, as the university considers Fulnecky’s discrimination complaint. “To ensure fairness in the process, a full-time professor is serving as the course instructor for the remainder of the semester.”

Fulnecky does not have a future as a novelist. But she followed the directions.

We should demand better work from all undergraduates. If Fulnecky deserves to fail, so do plenty of her classmates. If the University of Oklahoma isn’t prepared to raise their standards, which they probably aren’t, then Fulnecky deserves a ‘C.’

Follow Natalie Sandoval on X: @NatSandovalDC