A father in Palo Alto, California, has reported a legal victory after a federal judge permitted a civil rights lawsuit alleging anti-Asian bias in college admissions to advance. Nan Zhong and his son, Stanley Zhong, have filed lawsuits against several elite institutions, including the University of California system, the University of Washington, the University of Michigan, and Cornell University. The lawsuits claim that the universities engaged in racially discriminatory admissions practices that disadvantage highly qualified Asian-American applicants.
One of the cases will proceed against the University of Washington after a federal judge partially granted and partially denied the university defendants’ motion to dismiss. Judge James L. Robart ruled that enough factual allegations supported Stanley’s Title VI claims against the university while dismissing several other claims.
“We got an exciting ruling from the judge,” Nan Zhong stated. “Effectively, the judge ruled in our favor by denying the university’s motion to dismiss. So, this is a major development in the lawsuit.”
The University of Washington Board of Regents responded by stating that they were pleased with the dismissal of many claims and two of the three plaintiffs, emphasizing that admission to the Allen School is highly competitive and prioritizes Washington residents.
With the ruling, the Zhon family can now proceed into discovery, which includes requesting internal documents, communications, and admissions data. Stanley Zhong, 21, gained attention after being rejected by 16 of the 18 colleges he applied to, despite having a strong academic record, including a 1590 SAT score and a 4.42 weighted GPA. He was hired by Google as a full-time software engineer shortly after the college rejections.
The family spent over a year researching admissions trends before filing the lawsuits, concluding that anti-Asian bias is a systemic issue. Nan Zhong expressed concern for his younger son and emphasized the importance of addressing these issues to prevent future generations from facing similar challenges. Since publicizing their battle, the family has received communications from other Asian American families sharing similar experiences.
Spokespersons for the University of California system have previously denied the allegations, asserting that their admissions policies comply with state and federal laws prohibiting race-conscious decisions. Stanley Zhong was accepted at the University of Maryland and the University of Texas-Austin but chose to accept a position at Google in the fall of 2023.