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Woman in College Admissions Scam Had Shared Advice on Social Media
When the U.S. Department of Justice announced that 50 people had been indicted in mid-March in a pay-for-admissions scandal, they revealed that one family had paid $6.5 million to a fixer to gain their daughter admission to a prestigious U.S. university.
But their name wasn't revealed until last week, when the Los Angeles Times named Yusi Zhao as the daughter of a Chinese-Singaporean family that paid Rick Singer of California that fee to ensure her acceptance to the prestigious West Coast Stanford University.
A week later, a social media video was discovered showing Yusi Zhao giving her advice about getting into top-flight schools and sharing her experience with other Chinese students on how to achieve that goal.
See our YouTube video here for a deep dive into the admissions scandal.
“In this live video, I want to tell you that Stanford is not unreachable," she says confidently. "As long as you have a firm goal and work towards it, you will get there.”
Zhao’s father, Tao Zhao, is the chairman of Buchang Pharma. He holds a Singaporean citizenship.
“From my own experience … how should I put it?" Yusi wonders. "Well, regardless of your innate ability, as long as you work hard, everyone can achieve their dreams. Dream is not just a dream. As long as you push forward slowly, one step at a time, you will get there.”
News reports say Yusi has been expelled from Stanford, and it remains unclear if she or her family is criminally liable as other families involved in the scam.
VOA's Mandarin Service contributed to this report.
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Trump administration opens antisemitism inquiries at 5 colleges, including Columbia and Berkeley
The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.
It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.
In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.
Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.
Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.
"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.
The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.
An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."
House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."
Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.
Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.
The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.
"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."
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British student talks about her culture shock in Ohio
A British student who did a year abroad at Bowling Green State University in Ohio talks about adjusting to life in America in a TikTok video, Newsweek magazine reports.
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