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OU graduate teaching assistant put on leave will not return to instructing

Protestors gather on OU campus in support of Mel Curth, a graduate instructor put on administrative leave.
Hannah France
/
KGOU
Protestors gather on OU campus in support of Mel Curth, a graduate instructor put on administrative leave.

An OU graduate teaching assistant put on administrative leave following a student’s claim of religious discrimination will no longer be teaching at the university.

On November 30, OU graduate teaching assistant Mel Curth was put on administrative leave after a student, Junior Samantha Fulnecky, filed a grade appeal and a formal claim of religious discrimination after receiving a failing grade on a psychology paper about gender roles.

Fulnecky referenced the Bible in her paper, and claims the failing grade she received was discriminatory. Curth’s grading comments said Fulnecky’s paper did not follow the assignment and was at times “offensive.”

In a statement released Monday, the university said a review of Curth’s prior grading standards and comments on the matter had been conducted and it was determined Curth was “arbitrary” in the grading of the paper and will no longer have instructional duties at the university.

Additionally, the university said Fulnecky's religious discrimination claim has been investigated and concluded, but it does not release the findings of such investigations. Fulnecky’s grade appeal had already been decided in her favor.

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Hannah France joined KGOU as a reporter in 2021, shortly after earning a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. In 2023, Hannah was the first place recipient of the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists' Radio Outstanding Reporter Portfolio award. Hannah reports on a variety of topics including criminal justice, housing, and labor rights and is dedicated to educating and empowering Oklahomans through community storytelling.
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