Recently the Debate Society has petitioned the student body to amend the Constitution so they become a Secured Allocated Fund (SAF) Organization. Now that they have received 480 out the necessary 439 (15 percent of student body) signatures to be placed on a school wide ballot on May 2 they will need a two-thirds majority of the vote to be added to the constitution as an SAF Organization. Their proposal has met strong opposition from the other SAF organizations.

Unlike Union Chartered Organizations, SAF Organizations do not need rely on the Allocations Board to apportion them money. Instead, they are guaranteed a certain percentage of the Students Activities Fee regardless of any other factors. Current SAF Organizations are Archon 8.35 percent, Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps (BEMCo) 3.14 percent, the Justice 6.08 percent, Student Events 22.47 percent, Union Government 47.34 percent The Watch 1.87 percent, WBRS Waltham Group 1.79 percent. The Debate Society's amendment calls to reduce funding to WBRS to 8.47 percent, Archon to 6.35 percent, and The Watch to one percent.

Although the Justice will not lose any funding should the ammendment pass, the Justice is an SAF organization - one of six, the rest being BEMCo, WBRS, The Watch, Student Events, and Archon.

If the referendum passes, the Debate Society would get 3.37 percent from the SAF fund which this year would be $25,991. This is in addition to the $2,000 Rapaport Endowment, which was set up specifically for the Debate Society, and the $2,000 from Tournament Profits, the Debate Society would make $29,991 annually. Currently they only receive $9,440 from the allocations board, $2,000 from the Rapaport fund, $3,000 from the President's Office, and other profits from tournaments totaling $19,440 for this year - their debt for this year is $26,744. In order to pay for some of their expenses, the President's office has supplied some funds for the Debate Society.
These proposed changes by the Debate Society have been met with disapproval from not only the affected SAF Organizations but also from most of the other SAF Organizations.

Debate Society's Vice President Robert Greenberg '04 said that the Debate Society deserve SAF because "we've been around a long time and have brought an amazing amount of prestige and success to Brandeis."

Former Student Union President Joshua Peck '02 does not agree.

"I do not think that debate should receive SAF funding, because, in my opinion, they do not need freedom from regulation nor are they more entitled to funding than any other club," he said.

"After much discussion, the Justice editorial board came to a general consensus that the Debate Team should not qualify for SAF because they are not a service oriented organization like other SAF groups," Justice Editor-In-Chief Michaela May '03 said.

Under the Debate Society's proposal, Archon stands to lose about 24 percent of their funding . Archon's Business Manager Scott Selinger '02 says that if Archon loses this much money they will run a $10,000 debt every year after until 2006 when they will run out of money and will not be able to publish. Selinger explained that before Archon become an SAF Organization it had accumulated a substantial debt. As a result, the 87-89 yearbooks were not published by Archon. After becoming an SAF funded club, Archon spent through 1998 paying off the debt that to the University, which had paid for the publication of the yearbooks.

A packet the Debate Society's handed out in support of the amendment read that Archon has a bank account with $150,000 in it and that the projected surplus is $23,000 for this year.

Selinger disagrees. He said that there is only $50,000 in the bank account pointing to the fact that Archon has been only running a profit for the past five years, because of approximately $7,000 a year.

Although he does not cite his sources, Debate Society's President Jeff Nelson '04 stands by the amount Archon has in the bank account .

Selinger also explained that Archon is free to all seniors. If the amendment is passed then, all seniors will have to start paying for their year books. Also, it is necessary to have a bank account according to Selinger to pay for the times the year book goes over budget. "When we go over budget, its not by $100 dollars, because of publishing fees, its by thousands," he said.

Representatives of WBRS also say that the informational packed produced by the Debate Society mislead the student about the radio station's finances. The packed read that WBRS was running a $21,000 profit when, according to the budget that the Debate Society provided WBRS is actually losing money. WBRS General Manager Benjamin Schlesinger '02 said that WBRS is actually breaking even. Nelson later acknowledged a misinterpretation of WBRS's budget.

Schlesinger said he was disappointed that the Debate Society did not ask to clarify WBRS's budget and that they did not even contact the station.

"We are anticipating high moving costs and we have budgeted for that and the hiring of a tech consulted (to install all the equipment into the new student center," said Schlesinger.

"The quality of the radio station would be affected in many ways by the ammendment. Our ability to keep our equipment in good working order would certainly be hindered-the less functional our equipment the less excited people will be to come and work at the radio station and the worse our air would sound. Our ability to produce events on campus would be hindered," Schlesinger said.
The Debate Society's proposal will also cut funding for the Watch, arguing that since the magazine has not published once this year, they should not get funding.

Next year's Watch Editor in Chief Natasha Ushomirsky '04 explained that the Watch did in fact come out with an issue after September 11, and due to many internal problems, including the resignation of their former Editor in Chief, they were unable to publish any more issues so far this year. She said that another issue is in the works, and will come out before the end of the year.

Since they have not published but once all year, The Watch has about $14,000 left in their checking account.

"We have no problem giving back the extra money - what we are trying to prevent, is not being able to publish next year," Ushomirsky said.

She also thought it would have been best had the Society discussed any changes with the SAF clubs before proceeding.
Current BEMCo Treasurer and next year's Director Oren Barouch '03 also believes that even though BEMCo is not effected by their amendment, the Debate Society should not receive SAF funding.

"BEMCo disagrees with the notion that the Debate Team offers services comparable to the rest of the SAF groups. Despite their most recent attempt to plug the gaps in their proposal (by offering speech or debate lessons) they do not fit the profile of an SAF group," Barouch said.

Other SAF Organizations also believe that the Debate Society does fulfill the current definition of an SAF Organization.

"I think it's ludicrous that the Debate Society thinks its fulfills the definition because current SAF groups are all providing services to the entire student body and the Debate Society is not," Selinger said.

Member of the Debate Society, however, said they believe that over time the definition of an SAF organization has been expanded. "The de facto definition of an SAF group has been expanded by the inclusion of some of the current groups. For instance, the Watch and the Waltham Group are both groups that are very beneficial to the University, but do not meet the literal definition as stated in the Constitution. We would argue that voters should follow the spirit of the Constitution - as they did with both of those groups - rather than the letter of the Constitution - and the Debate Society clearly meets that standard," Greenberg said.

The Debate Society confirms that most of their requested funds will be spent on either transportation or tournament fees. Fifty people have attended different tournaments so far. They say they believe, however, that the prestige they bring is well worth it.
"I understand their desire to be as active as possible by going to all 25 tournaments, but I can't justify spending this much student money on so few students," Schlesinger said.

Barouch said he believes that SAF groups must demonstrate an absolute need for consistent, guaranteed funding from year to year as well as a reason to have autonomy from the school and the allocations board. "Regardless of what the Debate Team members might think, they are not providing a service similar, or comparable, to a weekly newspaper, radio programs, campus concerts and events, or a 24 hour seven-day a week emergency medical service," he said.

"We do need freedom from the restriction that A-Board money can't be used for transportation, since we are a traveling competitive team. Secured funding does not free the Debate Society from restrictions any more than it frees WBRS or the Justice from restrictions," Greenberg said.

"The potential fallout of the Debate Team gaining SAF admission is huge. It opens the door for every club on campus to make a bid for an SAF position - there are many other successful clubs on campus who could argue just as easily that they too would be better if given greater funding. The poker club could offer poker lessons and call that a service, but I think we can all agree that the poker club should not be an SAF club. The potential for a bloated SAF will eventually lead to none of the clubs getting the funding they require," Barouch said.

Greenberg maintains that this is exactly what The Debate Society wants. "Other clubs applying for SAF funding encourages democracy. That's part of the reason we are doing it now, we are bringing light to the issue: We encourage discussion and proper fiscal management," he said.

"A great misconception is that if any SAF group receives funding greater than that of its proposed budget then it is fair game for any use, because if it is not spent or used it is wasted. This is incorrect," Barouch said.

"BEMCo has many financial responsibilities, including a new emergency vehicle, which will be arriving soon. By the time it is fully outfitted this will be a $40,000 financial burden which will be paid for over the next five years . as of yet this expense will be absorbed entirely by BEMCo. This truck is a necessity without which the high standard of care we hold ourselves to could be compromised. I can say with confidence that in our current financial situation, BEMCo will spend every last drop of its SAF funding for the next five years," Barouch said.

SAF Organizations believe that the Debate Society should have confronted them before pursuing their Amendment. "I was a little offended that they did not talk to me before they proposed their amendment to take some of our funding away," Salinger said.

"I know for a fact they were invited cause the invitation was left on my answering machine but though they still have time I have not yet heard that they will be attending. They should have to confront the groups whose funding they will potentially be taking. Although BEMCo is not on that list, their subsequent potential admission could allow for more groups to try, potentially asking for part of BEMCo's funding. Also as an SAF representative of BEMCo, considering the potential clout of all of the SAF groups combined it would seem in the Debate Teams best interest to make their case to the group," Barouch said.

Debate Team leaders say they think that fundraising on campus is largely ineffective and as a result have done it rarely. "We have been doing fundraising, but it's important to remember that many of the fundraisers that other clubs use are not applicable. Common fundraisers such as coffeehouses are not money-makers so much as publicity tools - in fact, a coffeehouse is just one of the events that we will be able to do once our energies are no longer consumed by the funding crunch," Greenberg said.

"In the past four years, only three teams - Brandeis, Princeton, and Stanford - have had a team in the top eight at the National Championship. The other two teams in this group - Princeton and Stanford - have guaranteed funding. There is a clear correlation between adequate secured funding and success, and the Brandeis Speech and Debate Society needs secured funding in order to continue our success," Greenberg said.

"Without question, I think that our debate team has brought prestige to the school, but they have already been able to do so without the proposed constitutional Amendment," Peck said.