- Jackson Woodward | Staff
- Jan 30, 2026 (dailycal.org)
ASUC staffer Luca Martinez met Saikat Chakrabarti, a progressive running for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s seat in Congress, at a town hall meeting in December 2025.
Martinez asked Chakrabarti to come to campus, and Wednesday night, around a month later, Chakrabarti was there.
Over roughly an hour and a half, Chakrabarti presented his campaign and took questions from campus students as part of an event titled “How Grassroots Movements Beat Establishment,” organized by ASUC senator Margaret Solomon and South Asian Office Chair Niyati Ram.
In an interview with The Daily Californian after the talk, Chakrabarti said he had been considering protections of freedom of speech.
“You have to pass legislation that proactively protects freedom of speech at universities, protects the campus protesters,” Chakrabarti said. “I think it’s been a real shame that we’ve passed legislation in California, one of my opponents has in fact (supported the legislation), attacking campus protestors, attacking freedom of speech.”
California Sen. Scott Wiener, who is also running for Pelosi’s seat, sponsored SB 108,which pressured the UC system to tighten restrictions on student protests following the 2024 pro-Palestinian encampments.
“These are the Trumpian tactics that we are seeing being utilized against protesters and students all over,” Chakrabarti said. “We’re seeing the same kind of stuff coming out of our own state senator here.”
While Chakrabarti is running to represent San Francisco in the 11th Congressional District — which does not include Berkeley — he said Berkeley students often canvass for his campaign, and that his aspirations in Congress reach beyond the borders of the 11th District.
Some of Chakrabarti’s aspirations include making public colleges and trade schools tuition-free and expanding federal support for new housing developments.
“A lot of the things I’m talking about … (require) some optimism,” Chakrabarti said. “My experience in politics has been that optimism, that belief, comes from younger people.”
Steadily rising tuition across the UC system has previously drawn criticism from multiple student organizations.
Chakrabarti’s presentation Wednesday drew on his experience as a staffer for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, as well as his brief tenure as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s chief of staff. Chakrabarti left that position amid controversy surrounding his aggressive approach to what he would call “establishment” Democrats.
“Part of my politics is (that) you create the moment and you honestly push and make that movement happen,” he said.
While ASUC members and campus students questioned Chakrabarti on Wednesday night, the senators also said they were taking notes.
After the talk, Martinez said campus administration should not be surprised if students practice civil disobedience in the future.
