A student at the University of Oklahoma recently shared her experience after receiving a failing grade on an opinion essay that included Bible quotations. The teaching assistant, who identifies as transgender, deemed the content “offensive.”
Samantha Hrunecki, the student in question, spoke on “The Will Cain Show,” explaining that she had been tasked with discussing gender stereotypes. “I just voiced my opinion, which I thought was pretty straightforward,” she noted, adding that she never expected to need to show courage in doing so.
Hrunecki, who is pursuing a medical doctorate, mentioned that the assignment was opinion-based, aimed at reflecting on a piece about gender expectations among middle schoolers.
In her response, Hrunecki argued that her religious views upheld traditional gender roles, suggesting they should be reinforced rather than discarded. “I referenced what the Bible says about gender norms and emphasized that there are only two genders,” she stated.
However, she received a zero for the assignment, with her teaching assistant assigning the failing grade based on what was described as a lack of evidence and insufficient connection to the assignment’s requirements.
The teaching assistant, Mel Kurth, who uses she/they pronouns, clarified that the grade was not a reflection of Hrunecki’s beliefs but rather was a response to the perceived shortcomings in her work. Kurth pointed out that the essay did not adequately address the assignment prompts and leaned more on personal ideology than on factual support.
Kurth took issue with Hrunecki’s choice of language, labeling the term “satanic” as “highly offensive” and asserting that scientific evidence does not support the existence of bisexuality.
In reaction to the incident, the University of Oklahoma stated on social media that it takes First Amendment rights, including religious freedom, very seriously. They indicated that they began a review immediately after being alerted to the grading issue and moved to suspend Kurth while the situation was investigated.
Hrunecki expressed surprise upon learning about the administrative leave through social media, questioning whether the university would have acted similarly had her situation not gained attention online. “This whole experience, it felt, I don’t know… unexpected,” she said, reflecting on the rapid developments that followed.
