An 18-year-old software engineer who landed a prestigious job at Google after being rejected by 16 colleges, including multiple University of California schools, has filed a lawsuit against the UC system, alleging racial discrimination in its admissions process.
Stanley Zhong, a Palo Alto high school graduate and self-taught programmer, first caught Google’s attention at the age of 13 when a company recruiter reached out to discuss potential career opportunities.
However, due to his age, Google opted to keep his resume on file for future consideration. By the fall of 2023, at 18 years old, Zhong was hired as a full-time software engineer for a Ph.D.-level position at the tech giant.
Despite his professional success, Zhong was denied admission to 16 out of 18 colleges he applied to, including five University of California institutions: UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UCLA, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara.
His father, Nan Zhong, believes this rejection was due to racial bias against highly qualified Asian-American applicants.
Lawsuit Alleges Discriminatory Practices
In response, Stanley and his father have filed a lawsuit in Sacramento federal court against the University of California, claiming the admissions process unlawfully discriminates against Asian-American students.
The case is supported by the organization Students Who Oppose Racial Discrimination, which was founded by Nan Zhong.
“What we’re trying to get out of this is a fair treatment for future Asian applicants going forward, including my other kids and my future grandkids,” Nan Zhong told KGO-TV, which first reported on the lawsuit.
The complaint, spanning nearly 300 pages, argues that the UC system’s admissions policies create an unfair disadvantage for Asian-American applicants, despite California’s 1996 ban on race-based considerations in college admissions.
An AI-Assisted Legal Battle
Representing themselves in court, the Zhongs have acknowledged the difficulty of finding legal representation. According to Nan Zhong, multiple attorneys and legal entities either declined the case or failed to respond, citing heavy caseloads. As a result, they turned to artificial intelligence to draft their lawsuit.
“The legal complaint was largely written by ChatGPT and Gemini,” Zhong said in an email to McClatchy News. “We are going to file lawsuits against more universities very soon.”
University of California Responds
A University of California spokesperson stated that the institution had not yet been formally served with the lawsuit as of February 20, 2024.
However, they firmly defended the university’s admissions practices, stating that California’s ban on race-based admissions, enacted in 1996, has been consistently followed.
“If served, we will vigorously defend our admission practice,” the spokesperson said. “We believe this to be a meritless suit.”
While acknowledging that the university collects race and ethnicity data from applicants, the spokesperson asserted that this is solely for statistical purposes and does not influence admissions decisions.
Legal and Educational Implications
Zhong’s lawsuit comes amid ongoing national debates over affirmative action and college admissions policies, particularly in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that struck down affirmative action in higher education.
If the case proceeds, it could have significant ramifications for how universities evaluate applicants and address concerns of racial bias in admissions.
