Academic Freedom and Campus Speech

University of Oklahoma officials announced that a graduate teaching assistant, Mel Curth, will "no longer have instructional duties" after an investigation found she acted "arbitrarily" in giving student Samantha Fulnecky a zero on a 650‑word psychology assignment — a response to an academic study on middle‑school gender norms — in which the student, citing the Bible, called belief in multiple genders "demonic" and harmful; the assignment will not count toward Fulnecky’s grade after her appeal. Curth, through attorney Brittany Stewart, denies acting arbitrarily and is considering legal remedies, and the case — amplified by conservative groups — has fed into a national debate over academic freedom and DEI amid Oklahoma’s new law restricting public funding for DEI programs.