University of Oklahoma Grading Controversy Might Not Be a Culture War Battle

A transgender-identifying instructor at the University of Oklahoma gave a failing grade to a student’s subpar paper that defended Christian views and characterized the “lie that there are multiple genders” as “demonic.” Now, it is a national news story about discrimination against conservatives and Christians on college campuses.

The teacher, William “Mel” Curth, is a graduate student in psychology who prefers “she/they” pronouns; he has been placed on administrative leave while the school conducts an investigation. The undergraduate student, Samantha Fulnecky, has been hailed as a brave campus warrior advancing the proper mission of a university, namely the pursuit of truth despite discomfort. In fact, state representative Gabe Woolley announced that Fulnecky was honored with a Citation of Recognition from the Oklahoma House of Representatives’ 98th District for “speaking from a foundation of truth.” Yet nobody involved in this episode deserves much praise, let alone an award, and this supposedly serious incident might actually be nothing more than an unpleasant encounter between a harsh grader and a student.

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Abigail Anthony

Abigail Anthony is a staff writer at National Review.

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A transgender-identifying instructor at the University of Oklahoma gave a failing grade to a student’s subpar paper that defended Christian views and characterized the “lie that there are multiple genders” as “demonic.” Now, it is a national news story about discrimination against conservatives and Christians on college campuses.

The teacher, William “Mel” Curth, is a graduate student in psychology who prefers “she/they” pronouns; he has been placed on administrative leave while the school conducts an investigation. The undergraduate student, Samantha Fulnecky, has been hailed as a brave campus warrior advancing the proper mission of a university, namely the pursuit of truth despite discomfort. In fact, state representative Gabe Woolley announced that Fulnecky was honored with a Citation of Recognition from the Oklahoma House of Representatives’ 98th District for “speaking from a foundation of truth.” Yet nobody involved in this episode deserves much praise, let alone an award, and this supposedly serious incident might actually be nothing more than an unpleasant encounter between a harsh grader and a student.