Friday, BTV's constitutional amendment to become a Secured Allocation Fund (SAF) organization passed by 503 to 83, exceeding the Union Charter's requirement of a two-thirds majority. The amendment also removed Brandeis' literary magazine, the Watch, which hadn't published in three semesters, from the SAF list and instead allocated its 1.87 percent of the SAF to BTV. SAF clubs are not dependent on the allocations board to receive funding; every semester a part of the Student Activities Fee is given to the SAF organizations. The other SAF groups are WBRS, Waltham Group, the Justice, BEMCo, Archon and Student Events. Prior to the vote, the Watch received SAF funding as well.

"We were very surprised, pleased," BTV Manager Nathaniel Westheimer '05 said. "We had support from many student organizations and from student government."

Due to the current University-wide financial review, BTV will submit their budget to Assistant Vice President for Students and Enrollment Brian Walton. He will review their accounting procedures before BTV can receive its SAF check.

"(The Watch) approached us in e-mail and suggested other possibilities but after we wrote back and told them why we couldn't be part of the Media Coalition, because they are print media, they made no further objections," Westheimer said. "They never publicly opposed the amendment ... they didn't even write the constitutionally-mandated objection on the ballot."

The statement opposing the amendment on the online voting system said BTV is not accessible to all students, particularly to those living off campus.

With their newly acquired SAF money, BTV will purchase camera equipment to allow them to broadcast from all points of the Shapiro Campus Center and basic supplies, such as video tapes.

Representatives from the Watch said they were not upset that the Watch lost its SAF funding. "The real issue is not BTV taking the Watch's funding, as the Watch was scheduled to lose SAF funding within the year regardless," Watch Co-Editor in Chief Ben Woodring '06 said. "The real matter at hand is the positive role BTV can play in the Brandeis media scene. I believe its a worthwhile organization and I'm glad it now has the funds secured to take on larger projects."