The OU Graduate Student Senate passed a resolution calling on university administration to provide more transparency regarding administrative leave and additional protection for graduate teaching assistants in the course of investigations at its Thursday meeting.
The university is processing the appeal of junior psychology student Samantha Fulnecky, who alleges religious discrimination after she received zero points on an essay in which she cited the Bible, according to a statement released Sunday.
OU wrote that it was taking concerns of discrimination seriously, and that the graduate student who served as the course instructor had been placed on administrative leave. A different full-time professor will teach the class for the remainder of the semester, according to the statement.
The resolution read that dismissing the accusations against the instructor is necessary to preserve OU’s academic integrity.
“If the accusations were upheld, external employers and academic institutions could reasonably conclude that OU grants grades and degrees without requiring students to demonstrate genuine learning through coursework, exams, and honest evaluation,” the resolution read. “Upholding these claims would call into question the value and credibility of an OU degree, suggesting that academic outcomes can be influenced by unfounded accusations rather than merit.”
The resolution also stated the senate is concerned for the well-being of the graduate student instructor following intense harassment and comments made online.
“In making this appeal to the University’s administration, (the Graduate Student Senate) stands in solidarity with the graduate student instructor and will continue to advocate for their rights, their safety, and their wellbeing,” the resolution read.
Ways and Means Committee Chair Sam Jenson, who authored the bill, said he is aware the graduate instructor has received death threats for the situation.
“We are asking the university to condemn that behavior and to step up their protections for the entire university community,” Jenson said.
The resolution also calls on university administration to disclose procedures during the investigation, explain in detail why the instructor was placed on leave, and formally apologize to the instructor for the bullying they received.
Jenson said no members of senate are a part of the student-run Integrity Council, which is looking at the case.
“None of the authors are part of that council,” Jenson said. “To my knowledge, no one in (the senate) is part of that council…That is partly why we are calling for increased transparency…This assertion is based only on our reading of the documents that have been made public…we really don’t have much other information from the university to base this interpretation on.”
Jenson said the resolution calls for broad protections that apply to everyone in the campus community, which would prevent similar situations from happening again in the future.
“We have worked hard to include the entire campus community in any sorts of protections that the university provides,” Jenson said. “We believe that all members of the university campus…and any visitors to our campus…deserve to have their rights protected and respected.”
Senators entered a debate period, in which they discussed whether it was appropriate to comment further on the merit of the essay.
Jenson said while most senators do not have expertise in the psychology field, the senate stood with the graduate instructor because the assignment failed to address the prompt, requirement and rubric.
“While we can speak to the general academic merits of the assignments or of an essay, I would be hesitant to assign a particular numerical grade, and leave that to those individuals who are specialized in psychology and in evaluating psychological papers,” Jenson said.
The Graduate Student Senate passed this bill with a majority vote.
This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure and Thomas Pablo.
