Associated Students President Daevionne Beasley announced Monday evening in a Facebook post that he will be resigning from his position later this week. 

Courtesy of Daevionne Beasley

Beasley’s resignation comes after a months-long attempt to recall him, after a UCSB student alleged in spring that Beasley sexually assaulted him in 2018, which Beasley denies.

Currently, a special election is being held to elect both a new Student Advocate General and to vote on whether or not to recall Beasley. The special election will proceed as scheduled even after Beasley’s resignation, according to Associated Students (A.S.) Elections Board Chair Andrew Yan.

According to A.S. Legal Code Article 7 Section 2 Subsection F, the Internal Vice President (IVP) — fourth-year Tianna White — will succeed the office of the president until a special election can be held in Winter Quarter 2021 to replace the president.

“Until a new president can be elected during the Winter Special Election, I hope to fulfill the role and carry on the work of the office to the best of my ability,” White said in a statement to the Nexus. 

She said she will be working closely with the interim IVP  — Senator Catherine Flaherty — to “ensure a smooth transition, and that all of the projects I began will continue to be implemented.” 

Prior to becoming A.S. President, Beasley served as the External Vice President for Statewide Affairs (EVPSA) for the 2019-20 school year. 

In a statement posted to his Facebook page on Monday, Beasley said he “stood as a leader through anti-Blackness, lies about me and my character, and so many other overwhelming instances that no student should have to go through.”

“A good quality of a leader is knowing when to step up, and when to step down,” Beasley said. “I realize now that there isn’t a way for me to move forward in the work I want to do for students in this environment of A.S. It just isn’t sustainable.” 

Beasley did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The most recent attempt to recall Beasley began in early October, when a petition to recall him garnered 565 signatures. On Oct. 21, Elections Board confirmed that the petition had received enough verified signatures to move the petition to a vote in the Senate. 

Hours before voting was set to begin, Beasley filed a petition to A.S. Judicial Council alleging that Elections Board violated A.S. Legal Code by allowing freshmen and first-year transfer students — who were not UCSB students when Beasley was elected — to sign the petition. 

Judicial Council placed an injunction over the Senate vote on the petition on Oct. 21, which was intended to halt the petition until Judicial Council could hold a hearing to decide whether Elections Board violated Legal Code. 

Instead, during a seven-hour meeting on Oct. 21., senators motioned to continue with the election independent and regardless of the injunction. Senators deliberated at length during the meeting, discussing the precedent that would be set by moving forward with a recall vote after the Judicial Council placed an injunction over the proceedings.

Beasley announced during an emergency Senate meeting on Oct. 25 that he would be dropping the Judicial Council case, thus lifting the injunction and allowing the special election to move forward as scheduled. Voting officially began after noon on Oct. 26 and will continue until Oct. 29 at 4 p.m. 

Beasley said in his statement that he was not “succumbing to any outside pressure or coercion” by resigning, but that UCSB “deserves better than divisiveness, turmoil, and a student government in deadlock.” 

“If my resignation can lead to a better, healthier environment where the students can prosper, I would like to contribute to that,” he said.  

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Katherine Swartz
Katherine Swartz was the 2021-22 editor in chief of the Daily Nexus. Previously, Swartz was the University News Editor for the 2020-2021 school year. She can be reached at kswartz@dailynexus.com or news@dailynexus.com, and on twitter @kv_swartz.