University of Cincinnati student Olivia Krolczyk has claimed that her professor gave her a zero on a college project for using the term 'biological women'.
The 20-year-old student said that her professor for Women's Gender Studies in Pop Culture class failed her for using the "exclusionary" term despite admitting that she submitted a "solid proposal," the student told New York Post. The course instructed students to pick a topic related to feminism. The 20-year-old student opted for the changes female athletes have experienced throughout history and the rights and opportunities they have been awarded and fought for in athletics.
In the now-viral video, Ms Krolczyk said, "I got a 0 on a project proposal in my class because I use the term biological women, which is apparently not allowed anymore. She even said it was a good project proposal. Um, but I got a 0 because I use this term as exclusionary and that's not allowed anymore."
"And I 100 per cent know that this is, like, the most biased grade ever, because my project is about transgenders competing in biological women's sports," she continued. "How am I supposed to do my final project if I can't use the word, biological women? But that's what my project is about."
The undergrad student shared a pic of the zero grade and the professor's comment, which reads, "Olivia, this is a solid proposal. However, the terms 'biological women' are exclusionary and are not allowed in this course as they further reinforce heteronormativity."
She told New York Post, "The final grade is based on the very few assignments we have, adding up to 200 total points. All grades relating to this specific project add up to 100 points, which is half my grade."
She added, "The project in general was extensive and the students had a lot of freedom to pick a topic."
Ms Krolczyk also said she had contacted the university's Gender Equality office, which told her it would have a different professor review and grade her work - but she has yet to see her grade change nearly two weeks later.
The student also claims this was not the first time she had issues with this professor.
The University of Cincinnati is reviewing the matter.
