OU announced it is processing the appeal of a student 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 it was taking concerns of discrimination seriously after junior psychology student and former OU women’s tennis player Samantha Fulnecky publicly contested a failed grade on an essay and filed an illegal discrimination claim.
“The University of Oklahoma takes seriously concerns involving First Amendment rights, certainly including religious freedoms. 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 statement read.
OU wrote the graduate student instructor of the course has been placed on administrative leave and a different full-time professor will teach the class for the remainder of the semester.
Academic, religious discrimination appeals process
According to the academic appeal form from the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, which houses OU’s psychology department, a student may appeal a grade based on “prejudiced or capricious evaluation” or “the instructor’s alleged inability to speak the English language to the extent necessary to adequately instruct students.”
According to the academic grade appeal policy, an appeal can only be considered after “the student has made an unsuccessful attempt to resolve differences with the instructor.” According to reporting by The Oklahoman, Fulnecky disputed her grade with the graduate instructor and was denied credit for the assignment.
The student must submit the appeal within 15 regular class days and attach a letter of explanation and supporting documentation, according to the appeal form. The form must then be returned to the College of Arts and Sciences’ Student Success and Advising Center in the Physical Sciences Center or emailed to Rhonda Dean Kyncl, College of Arts and Sciences associate dean for students.
The university’s statement also wrote that Fulnecky filed a claim of religious discrimination, and the review process for Fulnecky’s claim has begun.
According to OU’s equal opportunity grievance form, appeals of alleged discrimination must be filed within 365 days of the alleged discriminatory incident. The filer of the appeal must state what relief or remedy they are seeking and identify any witnesses to the alleged discrimination.
OU Daily reached out to OU Marketing and Communications three times via phone and three times via email on Tuesday for more information about the timeline of academic and religious discrimination appeals.
The Daily did not receive a response by the time of this article’s publication.
Background
Fulnecky contested a failed grade on an essay assignment in an OU psychology course called Lifespan Development, stating she believed she received the grade because of her religious beliefs. The course name has been confirmed via OU’s course catalog by the Daily.
Fulnecky reportedly received zero out of 25 points for her assignment from the graduate student instructor for the class.
The instructions of the assignment were to write a 650-word essay in response to an assigned article on gender roles and identity. The essay would be graded on measures on thoughtfulness, relevance and clarity, according to the rubric released by The Oklahoman.
The instructor wrote in a Canvas comment that the paper failed to meet the assignment's criteria and that the paper was contradictory to itself.
According to the instructor's Canvas comment, the deducted points were for “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.”
In the essay, which was published by The Oklahoman, Fulnecky references the Bible to argue that traditional gender roles should not be considered stereotypes. She wrote eliminating gender would put people “farther from God’s original plan for humans.”
Fulnecky did not immediately respond to the Daily’s request for comment.
Fulnecky’s appeal has drawn state and national attention, with Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt posting on the social platform X that the situation is “deeply concerning” and calling on the OU Board of Regents to review the results of the investigation. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis referred to the situation as an example of “intellectual rot in higher education” in a post on X.
Fulnecky is set to be the guest speaker at the Original Constitutional Principles Affecting Culture Foundation 2025 Finale at noon Wednesday at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City.
According to a Tuesday Instagram post from Signed, Oklahoma, a protest will be held at noon on Friday starting at the Oklahoma Memorial Union and ending on the South Oval.
This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure, Natalie Armour, Thomas Pablo and Ana Barboza. Mary Ann Livingood and Sophie Hemker copy edited this story.
