Oklahoma professor placed on administrative leave after protest controversy

A College of Oklahoma professor is now going through disciplinary motion in reference to the zero grade given to a Christian scholar in a current essay.

Final week, the college confirmed that instructing assistant William “Mel” Curth, who makes use of they/them pronouns, had been faraway from the classroom after scholar Samantha Fulnecky failed an essay wherein Fulnecky appealed to her Christian beliefs and the Bible.

Now, a instructing assistant is going through fees of facial discrimination stemming from a protest organized to advocate for Curth’s return to the classroom.

The College of Oklahoma released a statement it was confirmed on social media on Friday night {that a} professor, who was not recognized, was providing excused absences to college students who needed to hitch a protest in favor of Curth’s reinstatement.

Samantha Fulnecky was flunked after invoking her religion in an essay on the College of Oklahoma. (Brian Bahr/Getty Pictures)

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Turning Level chapter president Kalib Magana has reportedly requested an excused absence to take part in a counter-protest of the identical occasion, in response to the the group’s social mediafiguring out the professor as Kelli Alvarez. In a later interview with the scholar newspaper OU DailyMagana reportedly recognized Alvarez as his English Composition II teacher.

Republican Senator Shane David Jett also said that Alvarez was accountable for the alleged discrimination.

However Alvarez denied Magana’s request until it concerned a “documented group” [of counter-protesters] may very well be organized,” Turning Level stated on X.

“Kalib shouldn’t be excluded for showing as a counter-protester whereas these in favor are excused. That’s discriminatory,” the Turning Level publish stated. “The professor anticipated Kalib to prepare a full-blown counter-protest the place folks would verify they’d attend, somewhat than permitting him to point out up alone like everybody else. His freedom of speech and his capability to get an excused absence had been made depending on the willingness of others to hitch his counter-protest and share his beliefs. That is extremely anti-free speech and discriminatory in opposition to an opposing viewpoint.”

The college responded to the accusation.

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“On Wednesday, a school member demonstrated facial discrimination by excusing college students who deliberate to overlook class to attend an on-campus protest, however did not grant the identical profit to college students who deliberate to overlook class to precise an opposing viewpoint,” the College of Oklahoma stated in a press release on social media.

A faculty principal instantly responded to the state of affairs, “telling college students at school and by e-mail right now that the trainer’s actions had been inappropriate and improper, and that the school classroom exists to show college students how you can assume, not what to assume.”

College students stroll between courses on campus in Norman, Oklahoma, on March 11, 2015. (Brett Deering/Getty Pictures)

“The principal additional acknowledged that any scholar, no matter their place, could be excused in the event that they left class right now to attend the protest with out penalty, and that the trainer had been changed with fast impact for the rest of the semester,” the college stated, including that it unequivocally helps the principal’s determination to fireside the professor.

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The professor was additionally positioned on administrative depart pending additional investigation.

“Classroom lecturers have a particular obligation to make sure that the classroom is rarely used to offer preferential therapy primarily based on private political opinions, nor to stress college students to undertake sure political or ideological views,” the college’s assertion ended.

The College of Oklahoma declined to remark additional. Alvarez didn’t reply to a request for remark.

In late November, Curth graded Fulnecky, a junior on the faculty, a zero grade on an essay. The task was to learn a scientific article summarizing a examine on gender norms amongst highschool college students, and write a response to it.

Fulnecky responded in assist of gender norms, citing the Bible. She stated that God made women and men and that gender norms shouldn’t be thought of “stereotypes.”

“Society [is] Perpetuating the lie that there are a number of genders and that everybody ought to be no matter she or he desires to be is demonic and critically harms America’s youth,” the essay stated. “I do not need children to be bullied or bullied in school. However spreading the lie that everybody has their very own reality and that everybody can do no matter they need and be whoever they need is completely not Biblical.”

OU scholar Samantha Fulnecky on the Oklahoma Memorial Union, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman/USA Immediately Community by way of Imagn Pictures)

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Curth took offense to Fulnecky’s essay and gave her a zero out of 25.

The instructing assistant stated the essay lacked empirical proof, which was not a requirement within the grading rubric, which listed three grading standards.

‘Does the newspaper have a transparent relationship with the assigned article?’ was the primary criterion, which was price a most of 10 of the 25 factors of the task.

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“Does the article comprise a considerate response or response to the article, somewhat than a abstract?” was second, additionally good for a most of 10 factors.

“Is the paper written clearly?” is the ultimate criterion, price a most of 5 factors.

“Please observe that I’m not deducting factors as a result of you may have sure beliefs, however as an alternative I’m deducting factors [sic] for posting a response paper that doesn’t reply the questions for this task, is self-contradictory, makes heavy use of non-public ideology over empirical proof in a science class, and is usually offensive,” Curth’s response stated.

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OU scholar Samantha Fulnecky, together with her Bible, on the Oklahoma Memorial Union, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman/USA Immediately Community by way of Imagn Pictures)

“You might personally disagree with this, however that does not change the truth that each main psychological, medical, pediatric, and psychiatric affiliation in the USA acknowledges that intercourse and gender are neither biologically and psychologically binary nor fastened,” Curth continued.

Fulnecky informed Fox Information Digital she believed it was a punishment.

“I used to be requested to learn an article and provides my opinion on the article, and the article was about gender binary and psychological well being and gender stereotypes, particularly in kids, as a result of it is a lifelong developmental lesson,” Fulnecky, who was shocked by the zero ranking, informed Fox Information Digital. “So I used to be requested to offer my opinion and my response to the paper.”

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“So I did this task the identical manner everybody else in that class did, giving my views on the gender binary and gender stereotypes and that my views clearly come from the Bible and my Christian worldview,” she stated. “And so that is what I wrote about and I did not assume something of it.”

Curth is at present on administrative depart.