OU student’s zero for Christian-based gender critique triggers congressional pushback over academic bias

FIRST ON FOX: United States senators are speaking retired aft a pupil astatine the University of Oklahoma said she was fixed a zero connected an duty for her "Christian benignant of worldview" questioning sex norms.

Word of the failed duty has present reached the halls of Congress, raising eyebrows from apical senators, including erstwhile statesmanlike campaigner and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who represents the assemblage successful Congress.

"That’s insane," Mullin told Fox News Digital. "Especially successful Oklahoma. There should beryllium zero tolerance for woke activists disguised arsenic ‘educators’ who punish students for nary crushed and enactment their toxic governmental agendas up of our kids’ education."

A Christian pupil astatine the University of Oklahoma received a zero connected a gender-themed science effort aft submitting a faith-based critique of an assigned scholarly article. (Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu via Getty Images; Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman/USA Today Network)

Samantha Fulnecky, a inferior astatine the university, got a zero retired of 25 connected her effort aft turning successful a faith-based critique of sex individuality successful effect to an assigned scholarly article, "Relations Among Gender Typicality, Peer Relations, and Mental Health During Early Adolescence."

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The scholastic portion analyzes a lawsuit survey of mediate schoolers who whitethorn person seen "gender‐based teasing," among different experiences associated with not conforming to sex norms.

"College professors should beryllium focused connected halfway subjects — not woke governmental indoctrination. The First Amendment, including spiritual freedom, should beryllium astatine the halfway of higher education," Mullin added. "A pupil was fixed a ZERO for citing the Bible and stating reality: that determination are lone 2 genders."

Sen. Markwayne Mullin told Fox News Digital "there should beryllium zero tolerance for woke activists disguised arsenic ‘educators’ who punish students for nary crushed and enactment their toxic governmental agendas up of our kids’ education." (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Part of the grading criteria included 5 points for the insubstantial simply being "clearly written."

CONSERVATIVE PROFESSOR SLAMS 0 GRADE FOR OKLAHOMA STUDENT'S BIBLICAL ESSAY AS PUNITIVE: 'VERY INAPPROPRIATE'

"Gender roles and tendencies should not beryllium considered 'stereotypes,'" Fulnecky’s effort read. "Women people privation to bash womanly things due to the fact that God created america with those womanly desires successful our hearts. The aforesaid goes for men. God created men successful the representation of His courageousness and strength, and He created women successful the representation of His beauty. He intentionally created women otherwise than men, and we should unrecorded our lives with that successful mind."

The teacher’s adjunct who graded the assignment, Mel Curth, uses she/they pronouns.

Scott, who is an outspoken Christian and wide known arsenic a antheral of faith, called the TA’s determination to springiness Fulnecky a zero "pathetic."

Sen. Tim Scott told Fox News Digital the TA's determination to springiness the pupil a zero was "pathetic." (Reuters)

OKLAHOMA STUDENT GIVEN ZERO ON BIBLE-CITING ESSAY SAYS UNIVERSITY ONLY SUSPENDED TA AFTER DISPUTE WENT VIRAL

"I deliberation it’s pathetic that a young woman gets a zero connected her enactment due to the fact that the teacher has a antithetic opinion," helium told Fox News Digital. "Students should beryllium capable to explicit themselves connected a assemblage field and beryllium judged connected however good they performed, not based connected whether 1 likes what the pupil has to say."

"The question is, ‘Do we person state of look connected assemblage campuses?’ If not, they should not beryllium getting national backing and, frankly, it’s not a schoolhouse astatine each — it’s an indoctrination camp," Scott added.

Fox News Digital interviewed Fulnecky earlier this week, and she said the TA "left submission comments saying that my enactment was offensive, that I request much empathy successful my writing, things similar if I'm going to reason against the statement of each aesculapian field, successful each aesculapian relation successful the United States, past I request empirical grounds to backmost that."

The University of Oklahoma placed the TA connected permission pursuing Fulnecky's complaint. (Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

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Fulnecky filed a favoritism ailment claiming she was graded for her Christian beliefs, prompting the assemblage to spot the postgraduate teacher connected permission portion investigating.

The University of Oklahoma did not respond to Fox News Digital’s petition for comment, but did station to societal media that the nationalist assemblage takes "concerns involving First Amendment rights, surely including spiritual freedoms," seriously.

Fox News Digital reached retired to Curth but did not person a response.

Preston Mizell is simply a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips tin beryllium sent to [email protected] and connected X @MizellPreston