A junior at the University of Oklahoma, identified as Samantha Fulnecky, has just opened an investigation with the university's school board for religious discrimination after her graduate student instructor graded her psychology essay—ending up with a zero on the assignment. Once Fulnecky brought this situation to the attention of the Oklahoma university’s board, the psychology instructor was promptly put on administrative leave as the investigation continued, suspending their instruction at the university until further notice.

The university student, Samantha Fulnecky, is currently majoring in Psychology on a pre-med track and has plans to become a doctor. As the investigation is ongoing, the board has decided that this grade will not be counted toward her final marks at the end of the semester.

The prompt assigned to Fulnecky was a reaction paper based on an article titled “Relations among gender typicality, peer relations, and mental health during early adolescence.” Fulnecky was asked to present a thoughtful discussion on her opinions of the article using evidence to support her claims. Instead, Fulnecky's paper was a comment on how society has strayed away from the traditional gender roles of a providing husband and a stay-at-home wife, and how “God intended” for women to submit to men. The source used to defend her claims were bible verses. 

The junior's essay included her interpretation of the bible regarding the gender roles in a traditional home, but also delved into the topic of free gender expression. Fulnecky “quotes” the bible without ever truly citing scripture. She pulls bible verses from memory and fails to accurately identify where quotes come from in her paper. She also writes that “the lie that there are multiple genders” is “demonic” with no evidence to support her statement. 

The instructor's reason for the poor mark adds up to the student’s inability to answer the question clearly, unoffensively, and with scientific/credible sources. Comments on the essay were mainly about the use of faith-based evidence when the prompt was meant to be responded to with a non-theological take. The intended response was using academically proven texts within the context of the psychology course.

Fulnecky has been anything but quiet about this. She has turned to the news and social media to publicize  her situation and experience with religious discrimination in an academic setting. Scholars across social media have also taken it upon themselves to judge the essay accordingly—and the verdict stands. 

Harvard graduate Connie Chen, with a master’s in divinity, took to social media to grade Samantha's essay as a theology paper—where using the bible is exactly what she was supposed to do. Chen criticizes her lack of biblical understanding and comments on one of Fulnecky's paragraphs where she cites the bible's use of the Hebrew word “ezer kenegdo,” which translates to “helper equal to.” The student goes on to claim that God assigns the role of helper to women and that is why women should submit to men. Chen says that this claim and bible verse is “citing evidence that directly contradicts your thesis and hoping that no one notices” as the use of the Hebrew word in the biblical context is to describe equality among all—not subordination. The scholar ends her video saying “this isn't religious persecution, this is academic accountability." 

As the essay is widespread across the media, many different voices have responded to her essay and have sparked conversations about religious freedoms within a classroom setting. Such topics have been circling around the education realm about incorporating religious texts into schools, specifically in states like Oklahoma. Samantha Fulnecky's essay has become more than just a paper written for a college course, it has launched the internet into a frenzy about the line between religion and academia.