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A second instructor at the University of Oklahoma has been suspended in the psychology paper grading saga that has engulfed the school.
The university is investigating whether the second instructor engaged in "viewpoint discrimination."
The University of Oklahoma has placed a second instructor on administrative leave amid a growing campus controversy that has entwined academic standards, religious expression, transgender rights, and political pressure. The latest eucator removed from the classroom allegedly told students they would be excused for attending a Friday protest in support of a transgender instructor who was suspended for accurately grading a paper.
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Mel Curth, a graduate student instructor, was placed on leave after Thanksgiving for failing an undergraduate psychology student on an essay that relied primarily on religious belief rather than empirical evidence. As The Advocate previously reported, the student, Samantha Fulnecky, described transgender identity as “demonic” and grounded her argument in biblical doctrine rather than citing peer-reviewed research required by the assignment. The university later removed the failing grade from Fulnecky’s record while its investigation continues.
Curth’s suspension sparked protests on campus. It was in that charged atmosphere, the university says, that the second instructor crossed a line.
“On Wednesday, a lecturer allegedly demonstrated viewpoint discrimination by excusing students who intended to miss class to attend a protest on campus, but not extending the same benefit to students who intended to miss class to express a counter-viewpoint,” the university said in a statement last week.
University officials said the response was immediate. The director of first-year composition informed students in class and by email that the lecturer’s actions were “inappropriate and wrong” and that the instructor had been “replaced, effective immediately, for the remainder of the semester.” The director further clarified that any student, “regardless of viewpoint,” would be excused without penalty if absent to attend the protest that day.
“The University of Oklahoma unequivocally supports the decision and swift action taken by the Director of First-Year Composition regarding this matter,” the statement said. The instructor has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
“Classroom instructors have a special obligation to ensure that the classroom is never used to grant preferential treatment based on personal political beliefs, nor to pressure students to adopt particular political or ideological views,” the university said.
According to OU Nightly, the student-run campus news outlet, the complaint was filed by Kalib Magana, president of the University of Oklahoma’s Turning Point USA chapter, after he asked whether counter-protesters would also receive excused absences. While no formal counter-protest was organized, several conservative students attended the demonstration, the outlet reports.
Curth’s supporters continue to argue that her original grading decision reflected evidence-based academic standards, not discrimination. In her feedback, she said the essay relied on “personal ideology over empirical evidence.”
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