daily californian logo

BERKELEY'S NEWS • NOVEMBER 17, 2023

ASUC Senate candidate Jake Sim dropped by Elevate Cal, continues in race

article image

SUPPORT OUR NONPROFIT NEWSROOM

We're an independent student-run newspaper, and need your support to maintain our coverage.

APRIL 03, 2021

As allegations of bullying and verbal harassment surfaced, Elevate Cal decided to drop ASUC Senate candidate Jake Sim, who is now running independent of any entity, from its coalition. 

In a public statement made in March, the director of the Basic Needs department for the ASUC Office of the Executive Vice President, or EVP, who requested not to be named due to privacy concerns, alleged that Sim had been relentlessly bullying and harassing her for weeks. Sim was an intern in the Basic Needs department for the Office of the EVP and was removed over spring break due to the allegations. 

On March 20, during a phone call between Sim and the director, Sim asked for her endorsement, to which the director replied that she needed more time to review the ASUC bylaws as she had already agreed to endorse another candidate, according to the statement. The director added that she needed additional time to consider endorsing Sim as she felt “uncomfortable” by the request.

The unnamed source said in her statement that Sim raised his voice and escalated the conversation after not receiving her endorsement. 

After speaking with Sim and the unnamed source, Elevate Cal decided to no longer support Sim as one of its candidates.

“The coalition does not support bullying or harassment of any kind, and we want to ensure that all our candidates’ values align with ours,” said Moorea Benmosche, chair of Elevate Cal, in an email.

In response to the “weeks” of alleged bullying and harassment the unnamed source recounted, Sim recognized that, following a meeting where he felt unheard and ignored, he had once sent an email that could have been expressed more professionally. 

Describing his tone as calm during the phone call, Sim said in an email that his impact did not align with his intent, having been consumed by his emotions and frustrations. From that point forward, Sim has been contemplating dropping out of the elections but has presently decided to continue running to help pave a way for students affected by the carceral system such as himself.

“If I am elected, I will focus on having talks around misogyny and patriarchy to address male privilege and support for survivors,” Sim said in the email. “I want to center the voices and experiences of non-male genders as marginalized identities in the patriarchy we live in.”

ASUC elections will be held virtually from April 5 to April 7.

Corrections: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Jake Sim is an intern in both the UC Berkeley Basic Needs Security Committee and ASUC Office of the President. In fact, he was an intern in the Basic Needs Department of the Office of the Executive Vice President.
Maxine Mouly is the university news editor. Contact her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at @moulymaxine.
LAST UPDATED

APRIL 04, 2021


Related Articles

featured article
Candidates in this year’s upcoming ASUC elections spoke to The Daily Californian regarding their thoughts on accessibility, equity and diversity in the campaigning process.
Candidates in this year’s upcoming ASUC elections spoke to The Daily Californian regarding their thoughts on accessibility, equity and diversity in the campaigning process.
featured article
featured article
Running to become the second transfer representative in ASUC history, Student Action candidate Jake Mehari dropped out of the race.
Running to become the second transfer representative in ASUC history, Student Action candidate Jake Mehari dropped out of the race.
featured article
featured article
In this year’s upcoming ASUC elections, independents comprise the majority of candidates on the ballot, with Student Action standing as the only official party.
In this year’s upcoming ASUC elections, independents comprise the majority of candidates on the ballot, with Student Action standing as the only official party.
featured article