Washington: Seattle University Faces Federal Civil Rights Investigation Over Scholarships, Including One Named for Justice Mary Yu
Seattle, King County, Washington — Seattle University is under a civil rights review by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, stemming from a complaint filed on June 4, 2025 by the advocacy group Equal Protection Project, KING 5 reported via Seattle-area Chinese-language media on Oct. 29.
The Office for Civil Rights sent a formal notice letter on Oct. 22, 2026, confirming it would investigate allegations of race, national origin and sex discrimination against the university. The scholarships the group listed as allegedly discriminatory include the Sinegal Fellowship program, the Justice Mary I. Yu Endowed Scholarship — named for Washington State's first Asian American and openly gay woman justice — and the Women of Seattle University Endowed Scholarship. Equal Protection Project founder William Jacobson set out the group's position in a prepared statement.
Seattle University has confirmed receiving the notice and says it looks forward to communicating and cooperating with the Office for Civil Rights. The university has not said whether the scholarships will be adjusted, and the investigation's progress and final outcome await further word from the federal office.
Source: GSM·America
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：金县法院外景。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons（CC BY-SA 4.0），GSM固定图库。 / Photo: King County Courthouse, Seattle, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), GSM fixed library.
