In early December, former UC Santa Barbara Associated Students President Tessa Veksler issued a lawsuit against the University and the UC Board of Regents for allegedly failing to adequately address the harassment she faced. The lawsuit alleges that during Veksler’s term, UCSB was “collaborating with the antisemitic protestors against Tessa” and “failing to protect civil on-campus discourse.”
In March 2024, a petition to recall Veksler was filed, but it later failed to pass. Nexus File Photo
Veksler, the 2023-24 Associated Students (A.S.) president, and attorneys from Ellis George LLP are seeking damages, injunctive relief and a jury trial.
The lawsuit states that after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on a music festival in Israel, Veksler posted on social media stating that she stood “with [her] Jewish community/neighbors” and “with the people of Israel.” The lawsuit continues by stating Veksler faced harassment in the coming months including “assaults and threats of physical violence, harassment and intimidation, and cyberstalking and defamation.”
The lawsuit mentions one particular incident where pro-Palestine students posted pro-Palestine and anti-Zionist signage at the MultiCultural Center (MCC) in February 2024. Several posters concerned Veksler, including “Tessa Veksler supports genocide,” “Zionists not welcome” and “Fuck a ‘neutral’ A.S. president.”
Several posters concerned Veksler, including “Tessa Veksler supports genocide,” “Zionists not welcome” and “Fuck a ‘neutral’ A.S. president.” Courtesy of Ericka Bradley
The lawsuit alleges that Veksler “pleaded” with UCSB for protection and to act in accordance with its antidiscrimination policy, but UCSB “refused to assist.”
The MCC was temporarily suspended following the incident, and UCSB administrators sent out a campus-wide email acknowledging the signage posting.
“These reprehensible incidents are currently under investigation, but as a campus, we must be clear that antisemitism and discrimination of any kind, including any efforts to intimidate, harass, or discriminate against members of our community, will not be tolerated,” the email read.
Per previous Nexus coverage, the personal information of MCC staff and student staff was doxxed, or posted online, after the incident. According to the lawsuit, Veksler’s phone number was also later doxxed on Instagram.
The lawsuit continues by alleging that when Veksler approached a crowd at the MCC to discuss the incident, a “UCSB representative” wearing a face mask “expressed solidarity with a group of Tessa’s antisemitic abusers in the campus MCC.”
“That the campus multi-cultural center exists to accommodate the diverse interests of all UCSB students was an irrelevance to the harassers,” the lawsuit alleges. “The point was to ostracize and intimidate Tessa.”
In March 2024, an anonymous petition to recall Veksler was filed, but it later failed to pass.
“[Veksler] felt devastated by the feeling that so many of her fellow students — those students she represented and for whom she advocated — had such a deep hatred for her, and that she was apparently powerless to change it,” the lawsuit read.
Veksler did not respond to a request for comment.
While the University cannot discuss the specifics of individual cases, according to UCSB media spokesperson Kiki Reyes, she said the University conducts investigations into reported incidents. Reyes also mentioned UCSB “engages” in outreach and offers support services to affected students. Also, the UCPD develops safety plans with “concerned students who report issues.”
“UC Santa Barbara condemns antisemitism in the strongest possible terms. Antisemitism and discrimination, including any efforts to intimidate or harass members of our community, has absolutely no place on our campus,” an emailed statement to the Nexus read. “The campus thoroughly investigates all reports of discrimination and harassment and take appropriate actions to hold perpetrators accountable. We will continue to do all we can to prevent and address antisemitism and support students affected.”
The lawsuit comes in the midst of several federal legal actions pertaining to alleged antisemitism and Islamophobia across the UC. In 2024, the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights reached a voluntary agreement with the UC after receiving complaints of alleged discrimination in relation to UC Davis, UC Los Angeles, UC San Diego, UCSB and UC Santa Cruz.
A version of this article appeared on p. 4 of the Jan. 22, 2026 edition of the Daily Nexus.
