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The New York Post posted this on their website yesterday: "University of Oklahoma student files discrimination report after flunking gender essay for psych class with trans instructor."
The Turning Point USA on-campus chapter of the organization, founded by recently assassinated Charlie Kirk, has now entered the fray in defense of the Christian student.
Townhall wrote this: "University of Oklahoma (UO) student Samantha Fulnecky was given an assignment for her psychology course. In that assignment, she was asked to write a 650-word essay response to an article about how people are perceived based on societal expectations of gender."
Fulnecky argued in favor of traditional gender roles and cited the Bible as her source. For that, her professor, Mel Curtis, failed Fulnecky and said she failed to "use empirical evidence" while calling parts of her essay "offensive."
Mel Curtis is also transgender.
This is what's wrong with government-run schools in America. It's not about education — it's about indoctrination.
And punishment if you don't conform.
Be informed, not misled.
Townhall says, "TPUSA-OU is taking up Fulnecky's case."
Indeed, they are.
Turning Point said, "In her essay, Fulnecky argued that traditional gender roles should not be considered stereotypes. She cited the Bible to support her stance that eliminating gender in society would be 'detrimental' because that would put people 'farther from God's original plan for humans."
PTUSA continued, "We at Turning Point OU stand with Samantha. We should not be letting mentally ill professors around students. Clearly this professor lacks the intellectual maturity to set her own bias aside and take grading seriously. Professors like this are the very reason conservatives can't voice their beliefs in the classroom," they added.
TPUSA also shared screenshots of the professor's response, as well as a response from Professor Megan Waldron (who also has her pronouns on her profile).
Trans Professors response to Samantha’s essay pic.twitter.com/wQRlC6fCEy
— TPUSA_OU (@TurningPointOU) November 27, 2025
The response Christian kids have come to expect if their beliefs collide with the secular humanist's worldview.
The transgender professor responds:
Please note that I am not deducting points because you have certain beliefs, but instead I am deducting points 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.
That's the softer response to the Christian student; however, there is more "empirical evidence" that supports the male/female belief than the recent "studies" that have been pushed out to the public by trans allies and activists trying to make the case that there are many genders between male and female.
The prof continues, "While you are entitled to your own personal beliefs, there is an appropriate time or place to implement them in your reflections. I encourage all students to question or challenge the course material with other empirical findings or testable hypotheses, but 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.
This is an example of the double speak that dominates today's classroom: "All students have a right to their own beliefs.......however."
The message is clear: "Shut up and conform, or you will be punished."
Why is it appropriate and in the rightful place for a transgender professor to push his personal beliefs, but is off limits for a Christian to share hers?
You argue that abiding by normative gender roles is beneficial (it is perfectly fine to believe this), but to then say that everyone should act the same, while also saying that people aren’t pressured into gendered expectations, is contradictory, especially since your arguments reflect a religious pressure to act in gender-stereotypical ways. You can say that strict gender norms don’t create gender stereotypes, but that isn’t true by the definition of what a stereotype is. Please note that acknowledging gender stereotypes does not immediately denote a negative connotation, a nuance this article discusses.
Additionally, to call an entire group of people “demonic” is highly offensive, especially a minoritized population. You are entitled to your own beliefs, but this isn’t a vague narrative of “society pushes lies,” but instead the result of countless years developing psychological and scientific evidence for these claims and directly interacting with the communities involved. You may personally disagree with this, but that doesn’t change the fact that every major psychological, medical, pediatric, and psychiatric association in the United States acknowledges that, biologically and psychologically, sex and gender is neither binary nor fixed.
The Prof says, "Every major psychological, medical, pediatric, and psychiatric association in the United States acknowledges that, biologically and psychologically, sex and gender are neither binary nor fixed.'
That's simply not true. He worded the statement, leaving it open to claim that those who disagree with his biased beliefs are not legitimate.
I implore you to apply some more perspective and empathy in your work. If you personally disagree with the findings, then by all means share your criticisms, but make sure to do so in a way that is appropriate and using the methodology of empirical psychology, as aligned with the learning goals in this class. If you have any additional questions or concerns about this or would like some additional educational resources, I would be happy to discuss this further and provide you with them.
The "additional educational resources" he is offering are, at their core, further indoctrination materials that may change the mind of a weaker or uninformed student.
TPUSA also shared the assignment directions. "The best reaction papers illustrate that students have read the assigned materials and engaged in critical thinking about some aspect of the article," the directions read. "You must write a 650-word...double-spaced reaction paper demonstrating that you read the assigned article, and include a thoughtful reaction to the material presented in the article."
TPUSA continues, "The directions say points will be deducted for papers that don't meet the 650-word threshold, and no points will be given for papers under 620 words. In the screenshot shared by TPUSA, using 'empirical evidence' is not one of the requirements."
Takeaway
The New York Post reports that Fulnecky is filing a discrimination report with the school. I sincerely and prayerfully hope she wins.
Of the hundreds of topics this professor could have chosen for this particular project, he chose transgenderism, giving himself a reason---a platform to push his own beliefs on unprepared, uninformed students who need a good grade in his class.
This is not unique. It has become the norm in public education.
Activism before instruction by a group of highly committed activists using taxpayer dollars to destroy the minds of our kids is the banner that flies over most institutions of "higher" learning.
God help us.
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Bold. Be Prayerful.
