Robert D. Farber University Archives and Special Collections

Pearlman Hall Takeover

The mid-1970s was a time of economic troubles for the United States and the rest of the world as stagflation, an economic situation with high inflation rates, slow economic growth, and high unemployment, negatively impacted the financial circumstances of people, corporations, and institutions alike, including Brandeis. Between the end of 1974 and the beginning of 1975, in response to the economic difficulties facing the university, the administration and Board of Trustees implemented major cutbacks to the following academic year’s budget, totaling $2.2 million dollars. These cutbacks and associated measures would not only significantly increase students’ financial burdens but also negatively impact several programs and departments. They included a rise in student fees by $650, a reduction in the Transitional Year Program budget by more than 50%, and several academic cutbacks, such as the dismissal of 26 faculty members, among them Clinton Dean in the Sociology department, the only Black instructor outside of the African and Afro-American Studies Department. It should be noted that the proposed reduction in the administration’s budget was lower than the recommended reductions for any other department at Brandeis.

A Campus Student Coalition-organized protest held at the entrance to campus to express opposition to a proposed budget that would slash funding for the Transitional Year Program (TYP), raise tuition for students, and lay off faculty and staff (1975).

Early the following month, the CSC released their own budget report in which they made three demands that aimed to ensure that students, particularly low-income students, and certain departments and programs would not be disproportionately impacted by the need to decrease the university’s spending. They argued that the burden of the economic crisis was being unfairly shifted onto the backs of students and working people. The CSC’s three demands were, as follows: 1: “An immediate halt to all academic cutbacks and the rehiring of all faculty members being appealed by their department and replacing all other dismissed faculty,” 2: “100% compensation for the $650 increase in tuition/room and board in grant to all financial aid students and a $325,000 increase in the financial aid budget for 1975-76,” and 3: “No worker lay-off [sic].” During the first half of the month, the CSC tried to talk with the administration in order to persuade them to change the budget proposal, but on March 13, 1975, the Trustees approved the budget, rejecting the CSC’s demands. The ball was now in the CSC’s court.

Below is a working copy of the CSC Report on the university budget. In this report, the organization stated their three demands, the reasoning for their demands, and provided alternative suggestions for financial cuts.

This is a booklet produced and distributed by a student organization called the Progressive Student Caucus that details the fight against the administration and Board of Trustees' proposed budget cuts for the following academic year, the Campus Student Coalition's three demands, and the creation of the Progressive Student Caucus. It also provides encouragement for students to continue the fight against the administration and the Board of Trustees.

With the failure of their attempts to persuade the Trustees and administration, students resorted to more drastic actions. On April 29, 1975, the Student Action Group (SAG), a multi-ethnic and multi-class group of students, took over the Pearlman Sociology Building and presented the administration with a list of seven demands, similar to those of the CSC. Negotiations between SAG mediators and the administration began later that day. Outside of Pearlman, there was a massive mobilization of forces by both students and faculty members. Five hundred students engaged in a constant picket line while a student security force worked around the clock to protect the students inside Pearlman and a supply line was organized and maintained with those inside. In addition, SAG encouraged students and faculty to hold a massive strike on May 1, urging students to boycott classes and faculty to cancel them. May 1, chosen because of International Workers’ Day, saw classes canceled and replaced with teach-ins to instead educate students on SAG’s immediate concerns and the historical background of the group’s struggle.

The takeover and protests against the university’s proposed budget continued until 12:10 am on May 5 when a written and verbal agreement between SAG and the administration was agreed to. The agreement included a $27,000 increase in the TYP budget, a minimum percentage of grants for financial aid students that would be raised every year, a guarantee that the university will employ minority students to recruit minority and low-income students, the recognition of Asians as a minority for admissions and financial aid policies, and a promise that no staff or faculty would be fired to meet these demands.

Aftermath

The occupation of Pearlman Hall led to a significant change among the Brandeis student body. In May of the same year, an assembly of 400 students voted to establish a student union, recognizing the need for a “permanent defense organization” to protect students’ rights. With the creation of the student union, Brandeis students now had another means through which to organize for their rights both on and off campus.

Below is a booklet produced to provide information about the new student union and to encourage students to strengthen the union.