Fulnecky accused the instructor of religious discrimination, claiming she deserved a perfect score as she had followed the same writing style in previous assignments. The Turning Point USA chapter at OU shared the essay online, sparking a debate on religious freedom and academic standards.

Fulnecky, a junior psychology major, wrote an essay arguing that there are only two genders and that gender roles are dictated by God. She characterized the idea of "multiple genders" as "demonic" and argued that God "intentionally created women differently than men".

The instructor, Mel Curth, gave the essay a zero out of 25 (0/25), stating it failed to use empirical evidence and relied solely on ideology, rather than addressing the prompt.

The incident sparked a wider debate about academic freedom, with some defending the instructor's right to demand scientific methodology, while others argued the student was targeted for her faith.