Identity Politics in the Classroom: Was Mel Curth Targeted for Being Transgender?

A Bible-based essay. A failed grade. A culture war has resulted in a graduate instructor losing her job. Mel Curth, a transgender teaching assistant at the University of Oklahoma, just lost her job. The reason? She failed a student's essay that was based entirely on the Bible and Christian views about gender. No formal citations, just faith.

Now it has escalated into a national culture war over religious freedom, academic grading, and what happens when a conservative student's beliefs clash with what a university expects in an assignment.

An Essay on 'Demonic' Lies

The controversy began in late November when Samantha Fulnecky, a 20-year-old junior, submitted a 650-word response to an academic article examining whether conformity to gender norms was associated with popularity or bullying amongst middle school students. Instead of engaging with the research, Fulnecky penned a provocative argument grounded entirely in her Christian faith.

'Society pushing the lie that there are multiple genders and everyone should be whatever they want to be is demonic and severely harms American youth', Fulnecky wrote.

She continued: 'I live my life based on this truth and firmly believe that there would be less gender issues and insecurities in children if they were raised knowing that they do not belong to themselves, but they belong to the Lord'.

There was just one problem. Fulnecky didn't formally cite the Bible or provide empirical evidence to support her claims.

'Highly Offensive' or Academic Failure?

Curth, who uses she/they pronouns, failed the essay. In her feedback, she explained that Fulnecky neglected to address the prompt and relied more on 'personal ideology' than 'empirical evidence'. She also noted that some of the student's assertions were 'at times offensive'. 'To call an entire group of people "demonic" is highly offensive, especially a minoritised population', Curth wrote.

The graduate instructor emphasised that Fulnecky's argument contained logical inconsistencies. She clarified that denying a link between strict gender norms and stereotypes conflicts with the very definition of a stereotype. She further noted that recognising gender stereotypes does not automatically assign them a negative meaning, but rather reflects a nuanced discussion explored in the article.

But the essay didn't stay contained to the psychology classroom. It went viral.

University of Oklahoma Fires Mel Curth After Investigation

The backlash was swift and politically charged. Ryan Walters, Oklahoma's conservative state schools superintendent who left his post in September, called Fulnecky 'an American hero' for tackling 'the war on Christianity'. Oklahoma State Rep. Gabe Woolley (R-98th Dist.) presented Fulnecky with a 'citation of recognition' from his office.

'This was the right decision. As I said from the beginning, this individual should never have been employed at a public university—particularly in a human sciences role—when he rejects the fundamental biological reality that there are two genders', Woolley wrote in a scathing statement about Curth's removal.

The University of Oklahoma placed Curth on leave while investigating Fulnecky's religious discrimination claims. By early December, the school had already ruled that the failed essay wouldn't impact Fulnecky's final grade in the course. On Monday, the university made it official: Mel Curth was out.

A Culture War in the Classroom

'Based on an examination of the graduate teaching assistant's own statements related to this matter, it was determined that the graduate teaching assistant was arbitrary in the grading of this specific paper. The graduate teaching assistant will no longer have instructional duties at the university', the school wrote in a statement.

The university's decision raises thorny questions about academic standards in an increasingly polarised educational landscape. How should educators respond to students who refuse to follow assignment criteria based on their religious beliefs? Where's the line between personal ideology and academic evidence?

What's clear is that the culture wars aren't staying outside the classroom—they're reshaping who is allowed to teach, what students can say, and how universities respond when faith and scholarship collide.