The University of Oklahoma removed and later fired a graduate teaching assistant after finding she arbitrarily awarded a zero on a psychology paper in which a student cited the Bible and argued against gender diversity. The university’s investigation concluded the instructor’s grading was arbitrary; the assignment was decoupled from course grading and the instructor was removed from teaching duties. The episode quickly became a flashpoint in state and national debates about academic freedom, religious expression and campus standards for evaluating student work. Oklahoma’s Republican governor publicly criticized the case; conservative commentators framed the incident as evidence of ideological bias against conservative viewpoints in higher education. The instructor has denied misconduct and is considering legal action. The university said it remains committed to both faculty academic freedom and protecting students from impermissible evaluative standards. Campus leaders and faculty governance bodies are now assessing policies on complaint investigations, grade appeals, and how syllabus expectations intersect with contested cultural topics.