A dental student has filed a civil rights lawsuit against a university in Utah and several administrators, claiming she was retaliated against after reporting harassment and patient safety concerns, according to a story published on May 14 on ABC4.com.
Yuyang Qiu, an Asian American dental student, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court for the District of Utah against Roseman University of Health Sciences, the university, and four administrators.
In the suit, she claims she was issued two different types of academic discipline and suspended indefinitely seven business days after reporting a white classmate was creating a hostile environment for non-white students and patients, according to the story.
Qiu is seeking a preliminary injunction, ordering the school to transfer her to its campus in Nevada so she can finish her degree away from the administrators who allegedly retaliated against her. Also, she wants her disciplinary records expunged, according to the story.
Before January 2026, Qiu reportedly was an outstanding student with no prior significant infractions. She reported to an administrator that a male classmate was making constant, aggressive attempts to encroach on her clinical work, which she claimed put patients at risk and created a hostile environment.
A week later, the university initiated an academic discipline process against Qiu for a significant infraction. Qiu is accused of performing an unauthorized procedure on a patient. However, she claimed she received written confirmation from a faculty member telling her to treat the patient, according to the story.
After administrators learned of the written evaluation, the university reportedly substituted its complaint with an action plan, accusing Qiu of multiple offenses, including violating infection control, tracking faculty vehicles, and creating fake social media accounts. Qiu denies these allegations, according to the story.
Furthermore, Qiu claimed that Roseman University administrative officials validated the male student’s unsubstantiated claims against her. Additionally, an administrator allegedly called Qiu’s complaints “interpersonal relationships” and encouraged her to go to therapy.
Qiu was suspended after she refused to sign the action plan.
In the lawsuit, Qiu also claims that an administrator called her "sneaky" and "manipulative." She alleges that those comments are biased against Asian women, because they are stereotyped as cunning and deceitful, according to the story.
The university has denied the allegations.
