Brandeis Faculty Attacks Sachar, Raps President's Poor Judgement

Abram L. Sachar, president of Brandeis University, committed "an error of judgement that could be interpreted as an infringement of academic freedom," according to a statement endorsed by the Brandeis Faculty Senate at their March 29 meeting.

The "error" concerned Sachar's censure of assistant professor of Anthropology Kathleen Gough Aberle, who strongly criticized President Kennedy's Cuban policy in a speech last Oct. 24. Sachar had called Mrs. Aberle's pro-Castro speech "dangerous and in violation of the tradition of faculty dignity."

At a news conference the same day of the Senate action, Sachar defended the censure as an attempt to dissociate himself and Brandeis from Mrs. Aberle's speech and sentiments.

He disclaimed any discrimination against Mrs. Aberle in the awarding of pay increases, and denied that he informed her she would not receive tenure.

Mrs. Aberle first referred these matters to the chairman of the Brandeis Faculty Senate on March 8. The Senate appointed a committee of three faculty members to investigate the charge of discriminatory practices, and asked it to report to the full faculty at a later date.

Faculty Senate Acts

The five-point statement subsequently proposed by the three-man committee was endorsed by the faculty on March 29. The Senate held that, while "some of the language was regrettable," the speech did not produce any incitement.

Although the faculty recognized the President's prerogtive to dissociate the university from Mrs. Aberle's speech, it stressed the doubtful wisdom of "the President's choice of action--the administering of a reprimand and the discriminatory salary increase."

The possibility that "the repetition of incidents of this kind will abridge the academic freedom of the Faculty" led the Senate to conclude that the case demonstrated a need "for appropriate procedures to be established at Brandeis to safeguard and guarantee academic freedom."

Sachar himself minimized the significance of "the furor that has excited the Brandeis campus." "Inevitably, when an issue involving academic freedom or freedom of speech arises on campus," he explained, "faculty and students become tremendously exercised. And they should."

"Responsible Dissent"

Sachar stated that he has no objection to dissent, and admires the "special kind of courage one must have to speak out against the president of a university." He stressed that other faculty members, whose speeches were never questioned, protested Kennedy's actions in Cuba, but "they spoke in responsible dissent."

In her speech, Mrs. Aberle said, "If there is to be a war, I hope Cuba will win and the United States will be shamed before all the world and its imperialistic hegemony ended forever in Latin America."

Mrs. Aberle and her husband, David L. Aberle, former head of the Brandeis Anthropology department, submitted their resignations three weeks ago. They plan to leave Brandeis at the end of the spring term