UC Santa Barbara’s Associated Students Elections Board released a petition to recall Associated Students President Tessa Veksler, on behalf of an unidentified petitioner, on March 17.
An Instagram account under the username @recalltessaveksler posted on March 6 calling for Veksler’s recall / Daily Nexus File Photo
The petition did not explicitly state the reasons for her recall but comes after criticism on social media over Veksler’s leadership following the closure of the MultiCultural Center (MCC) after pro-Palestine and anti-Zionist signage was posted at the site on Feb. 26, some of which dissented against the fourth-year political science and communication double major and Associated Student (A.S.) president.
Veksler did not respond for comment on the petition’s release.
Following the gathering, MCC staff and student staff were doxxed; the University, MCC affiliates and the Department of Black Studies released statements; a graduate student announced a hunger strike; and the Department of Black Studies held a day of interruption on March 7.
The petition requires 10% of the previous year’s election voters to sign to be presented to the A.S. Senate — 327 signatures according to last year’s turnout. The Senate will then vote on whether or not to ratify the petition, according to A.S. By-Laws Article XVIII Section 16. If it is ratified, they will then vote on whether or not to hold a special recall election.
The names of the student sponsors are currently private but will be public record if the petition gains enough signatures to be presented to the Senate, according to A.S. Elections Board Chair Cesar Castillo.
An Instagram account under the username @recalltessaveksler posted on March 6, calling for her recall. The post alleged that the course of her term increased division and harassment among students and that she has directly contributed to the doxxing of community members.
The account’s owners did not respond for comment on their identity or the recall petition.
“Under UCSB A.S. President Tessa Veksler’s [reign], we have seen unprecedented levels of division and tension on campus. Her inflammatory rhetoric has directly contributed to the rise in bullying, intimidation, and harassment of students,” the post read.
“Her actions, which include doxxing of outspoken community members and innocent bystanders, have endangered her constituents,” the post continued. “Her inactions, which include a failure to properly condemn racism and Islamophobia on campus, fly in the face of her campaign promise to ‘Amplify student voices to the university, especially marginalized and under-represented groups.’”
The post further alleged that she “strategically” failed to appoint an elections board chairperson and general members to halt a recall election. Castillo said his appointment was ratified on Feb. 28, in a statement to the Nexus. Castillo said there are still three general member vacancies and a vice chair vacancy.
“As chair, I will be conducting interviews to fill general member vacancies in the next few weeks. The Committee on Committees and the President have control over the vice chair appointment process,” the statement read.
The petitioner has four weeks to collect signatures, and the Elections Board is discussing when results will be publicized. Historically, A.S. elections have occurred at the end of April, and the form to declare candidacy in the 2024 election is open.
The Nexus will continue reporting on this issue as more information becomes available.
Online From Home Remote work is a catch-all term that applies to work that can be done from anywhere in the world $19980 Monthly. Since working from home jobs and telecommuting jobs are subsets of remote work, we prefer to use remote work to describe any job that doesn’t involve being tied to a specific office or workplace.
Here… https://Catchprefer.blogspot.com
The call for recall is justified, as the AS President should represent the diverse student body rather than aligning with extremist factions. It’s concerning to see support for ideologies associated with settler movements in the West Bank and the Likud Party of Israel, which has been criticized for violating international law and perpetuating ethnic cleansing. It’s important to acknowledge the problematic history associated with the current Israel genocidalist war, inspired by the supremacist teachings of Rabbi Kahane and his advocacy for Jewish supremacy, which echoes the sentiments of other divisive figures such as Ben Gvir and Netanyahu. The UC administration’s… Read more »
Such a well-balanced post. Can walk upright without veering to one side? Just curious.
BTW: Advocating for X while simultaneously trying to avoid criticism for one’s stance on X is not “contradictory”. It may not be laudable, but words have meaning. You might want to ask a friend to help explain dictionary use.
Well, Sasha, the Hamas charter article 7 calls for killing all Jews, in case you forgot. A survey by Norway trade unions (hardly a Maga group) showed that 85% of Gaza viewed favorably Bin Laden’s attacks on the U.S. just to remind you who you are supporting. And then, there are the hostages. But, I guess they aren’t important to you.