On Oct. 31, a Massachusetts court made a summary judgement in a lawsuit filed last fall by Professor Alan Bergen (PHIL) against the University. In the suit, Berger charged the University with religious discrimination. According to Executive Assistant to the President and Associate Vice President for University Affairs John Hose, the court made its judgment in favor of the University, after finding the evidence presented by Berger to be insufficient."The court is saying to Professor Berger, 'Even if we accept all of the facts as you have presented them, you have no case,''' Hose said.

In the suit, Berger also charged three specific people with religious discrimination: Professor Robin Feuer Miller (GSLS), then Philosophy Department Chair Palle Yourgrau and Philosophy Department Academic Administrator Mary Eppie Boze. In the suit, Berger claimed he had been discriminated against since 1998.

Professor Berger said that the court ruling did not find that religious discrimination does not exist in the Philosophy department. "It was not ruled that there is no anti-Semitism at Brandeis," Berger said. "Rather, a key point in the ruling was that whatever anti-Semitism there might have been did not cause substantial material damage."

"It was further ruled that certain papers were not filed on time with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination," he added.

Boze has consistently denied Berger's accusations of anti-Semitism. "I am glad the court has now confirmed what I have always said, (that) there was no basis for Alan Berger's complaints," she said.

Yourgrau was unavailable for comment on the issue.

Current Philosophy Department Chair Jerry Samet, however, chose to comment on the case. "I personally believe that Professor Berger's charges were vile, cruel and grotesque," he said.

The University plans to take no further action in this case, now that it has been decided. "That's the end of the issue from our standpoint," Hose said.

"We were pleased to see that the court agreed with our original feeling that this was a frivolous case and one without any basis," he added.

Boze said she expressed regret about the lawsuit. "(It) made me feel ... vulnerable and helpless. (Berger has) a secure tenured professorship, and although I have been working at Brandeis 16 years, my position of academic administrator is non-tenured," Boze said.

"The lawsuit has caused great personal distress, but the law requires us to work together, and we intend to do so, Samet said.