A newly-formed nonprofit purportedly serving Asian Americans and a professor who studies affirmative action are suing the University of California (UC) for access to data that they say could show whether the university system illegally discriminates against Asian Americans in admissions, NBC News reported.
The lawsuit, filed in early November in California Superior Court, accuses the university system of not complying with a California public records law by refusing data requests from the petitioners.
They are seeking data about undergraduate applicants and enrollees of the UC system, including test scores, high school and college grades, high school class rank, race and ethnicity, intended majors and final majors, among other data points.
The petition comes weeks after the conclusion of a trial in which Harvard was accused of discrimination against applicants of Asian descent. In a press release, petitioners cited the case as part of their reasoning for filing a lawsuit.
A spokesperson for the UC Office of the President refuted the allegations that the school system was not complying with the records law and illegally considered race in admissions.
“UC does not consider race, ethnicity or gender in admissions decisions, or any other decisions,” Dianne Klein, press secretary for the UC Office of the President, wrote.
Additionally, Klein said an allegation that the university is illegally denying one of the petitioners access to information is untrue.
