Chants in support of the graduate instructor who was placed on leave after psychology junior Samantha Fulnecky claimed discrimination over a failing grade rang through campus Friday afternoon.
After gathering in the union courtyard, a group of around 150 protesters marched down the South Oval, chanting “OU, shame on you” and “protect our professors,” before marching to Evans Hall, which houses the president’s and the Board of Regents offices. Outside Evans Hall, the crowd grew to around 250 protesters.
The protesters held homemade signs reading “Diversity makes us stronger,” “Grading isn’t discrimination, it’s accountability,” and “Reinstate her now,” among others.
Andrew Weiss, a junior civil engineering major, told the crowd he had no doubt the university would quietly fire the graduate student if it were the most profitable option for the university.
“We are here today because we know that this university administration is governed by cowardice and greed,” Weiss said. “We are here to show that when our administrators fail to protect their students and staff, we show up to protect their students and staff.”
Weiss, who is a Christian, told the crowd he has been conflicted about his religion being used to justify divisive opinions surrounding Fulnecky’s claims.
“The very same religion that raised me is the religion that I see being used to justify divisiveness and discrimination,” Weiss said. “The religion that taught me to treat others with kindness and respect is being used to defend some of the most dehumanizing and disgusting language I’ve ever heard.”
Kelly Taylor, an OU professor of classics and letters and OU alumna, said she attended the protest because she wants to see the university uphold its academic standards and not “give in to organizations like Turning Point USA.”
“I got a great education here and, back in the 2000s, we had less of this right-wing agitation infecting the university with culture war nonsense. It was a place for study, it was a place for students to learn,” Taylor said. “I think the majority of students, as you can see, are interested in university as a place to learn.”
Redji Curry, a student at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, was painting a scene of the protest chanting outside Evans Hall.
Curry said it’s important to document protests with mediums like live paintings to convey the emotions felt during the event.
“There are going to be the kind of protests that we talk about in history books later on,” Curry said. “Doing something like this means noting and properly finding weight to grievances like this. Doing this is more than taking time to stand here, but also document and show the emotion.”
Redji Curry live paints the scene during the protest for graduate instructor placed on leave on Dec. 5.
Rose Allen, a sophomore elementary education major, said she has seen national online discourse attacking OU.
“It’s simply not true. I have a great love for OU, and this situation is disrespecting that, and it’s just not correct (and) not right,” Allen said. “OU is number one in so many aspects. Think of our meteorology program, our Gaylord (Journalism and Mass Communications) program, they’re phenomenal.”
Jay Arkie, a sophomore history and women and gender studies double major, said he is infuriated by how Fulnecky’s reaction to the grade reflects on OU.
“This is the best school in Oklahoma and they’re making us look like a bunch of idiots and like a bunch of fools because we don’t have the strength to stand up (to) a bunch of transphobic assholes,” Arkie said.
Arkie said he has no respect for the university’s administration.
“As a trans student, I have never been madder at the (administration)," Arkie said. “I don’t trust them to keep me safe and I don’t think that they’re leading the university in a good direction.”
OU Turning Point USA president, Kalib Magana, attempted to speak to the crowd, but his voice was drowned out by chanting.
“Why are mentally ill professors, why do they feel the need … They shouldn't even be in the classroom lecturing students about their beliefs and telling them that they're wrong,” Magana said to the crowd.
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 on 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 based 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 that eliminating gender would put people “farther from God’s original plan for humans.”
In response to Fulnecky’s allegation of discrimination, the university wrote in a statement that university leaders contacted Fulnecky the day she submitted her complaint and a formal grade appeals process was conducted. Steps were taken to ensure there was no academic harm to the student, the statement reads.
OU also placed a graduate student instructor on administrative leave and placed a different full-time professor to teach the class for the remainder of the semester after the student reported filing a claim of illegal discrimination based on religious beliefs.
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.
During a meeting hosted by the Original Constitutional Principles Affecting Culture Foundation Wednesday, former State Superintendent Ryan Walters demanded university action for Fulnecky, stating that OU should lose taxpayer funding if action is not taken and that faculty involved in failing the essay should be fired.
This story was edited by Natalie Armour and Thomas Pablo. Gretchen Schultz and Sophie Hemker copy edited this story.
