Judge Allows Anti-Asian Bias Lawsuit Against Elite Universities to Proceed

A father and son duo has secured a significant legal victory in their civil rights lawsuit against several elite universities, alleging anti-Asian bias in college admissions. Nan Zhong and his son Stanley filed federal lawsuits against institutions including the University of California system, the University of Washington, the University of Michigan, and Cornell University.

Their case against the University of Washington will proceed after a federal judge granted their motion to deny the university's dismissal. The ruling centered on sovereign immunity, with Judge James L. Robart denying the defendants' motion to dismiss Stanley's Title VI claims against the university while dismissing several other claims.

Stanley Zhong, who was rejected by 16 of the 18 colleges he applied to despite boasting an elite academic record, went on to be hired by Google as a full-time software engineer. The family spent over a year researching admissions trends before filing the lawsuits, concluding that anti-Asian bias remains a systemic issue.

The University of Washington Board of Regents responded to the ruling, stating that they are pleased with the dismissal of many claims and two of the three plaintiffs. They maintained that their admissions policies strictly comply with state and federal laws prohibiting race-conscious decisions.