Discussion about the Oklahoma State University junior's failing grade has exploded in one more wave of right wingers complaining that they are the victims of oppression. Here's the break down of what actually happened in this bullshit flap, plus all the distractions that have been tossed into the mix.
Oklahoma State University graduate teaching assistant Mel Curth gave the assignment. Curth’s assignment asked students to write 650-word reaction papers “demonstrating that you read the assigned article, and [including] a thoughtful reaction to the material presented in the article,” according to the assignment instructions circulating online. “Possible approaches to reaction papers include: 1. A discussion of why you feel the topic is important and worthy of study (or not). 2. An application of the study or results to your own experiences.”
As a long time English teacher, I recognize the critical part of this assignment-- "demonstrating that you read the assigned article." We have all done this; you want the student to actually do the assigned reading, so you assign some sort of response requiring the student to show that they actually read the article.
Fulnecky didn't meet that requirement (her text is included in this article). Teachers will recognize the sort of constructions she used. "This article is very thought-provoking and caused me to thoroughly evaluate the idea of gender and the role it plays in our society." Later she refers to "articles like this," but the only specific reference is to a mention of peer teasing. There is no direct reference to the piece she was supposed to have read.
When giving my students an assignment to write in response to a work, I would tell them to be specific. "If I could not guess what work you are writing about based on the references in your essay, then you have not been specific enough." Fulnecky utterly fails on that count. Nor does she offer any sorts of support for her statements. That's not strictly a requirement of the assignment, but it is a reasonable expectation of a college junior majoring in psychology.
The bulk of the essay is anti-trans screed and assertion that right-wing christianist Biblical conservatism. It includes charges of being "demonic" and the assertion that bullying is actually a good thing.
Curth told Fulnecky, "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" and goes on to push back on some of Fulnecky's assertions about gender, and while I get the desire to correct someone who has wandered way out past the weeds in a science-based course, life would have been simpler for Curth to simply say, "You didn't address the assignment at all. F."
Curth is trans, and we will probably never know if Fulnecky was simply trying to bait Curth in order to create a narrative about evil college professors oppressing poor christianists. But Fulnecky immediately looped in Turning Point USA. Governor Kevin Stitt, and former education dudebro Ryan Walters.
Oh, and also her mother, Kristi Fulnecky. Mom is an attorney who has, among other things, defended two January 6 insurrectionists. She's a right wing podcaster who served in politics, including a stint in combat with local government when they went after her for taxes owed because she operated a business without a license; just a political witch hunt, she claimed. During the height of the pandemic, she sued over mask mandates and sued Springfield Public Schools over their hybrid re-opening plan. As a local councilwoman, she regularly blocked anyone who corrected her. She apparently is also good at threatening legal-ish letters.
In other words, Mom has fully mastered the art of aggressive victimhood.
So maybe Samantha Fulnecky is really upset about her grade. Or maybe she is launching a career in the moral panic industry (she's already made it to Fox).
But meanwhile, Oklahoma State University has shamed itself by benching Curth and ensuring "no academic harm to the student from the graded assignments." Meanwhile, all the usuals are praising Fulnecky's armor of God and touting this is as an example of evil professors oppressing conservatives and Governor Stitt found it all "deeply concerning."
Lord knows what Fulnecky plans to do with her degree, but maybe she won't need it if she cashes in on the right wing outrage circuit. Maybe she's just an apple that fell right next to the tree. In the meantime, I know Oklahoma State University is in Oklahoma, but surely they can do better than bending to this kind of baloney.
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