Brandeis Television submitted an amendment to the Union constitution on March 7 that would more than double its annual funding while reducing the portions of the student activities fund guaranteed to Student Events, the Archon yearbook, WBRS and the Justice.The amendment, having received the endorsement of 15 percent of the undergraduate population, will be voted upon in the first round of the upcoming Union elections, Union Secretary Aaron Braver announced in a campus-wide e-mail last night.

The student activities fund for the current academic year is approximately $923,000. Of that fund, 25.26 percent-about $233,000-is allocated for the secured major media groups: BTV, WBRS, Archon and the Justice. BTV is appropriated 7.4 percent for an annual operating budget of around $17,000.

If the amendment is approved by two-thirds of voting students, BTV's share of media money will rise to over $41,000-nearly 17 percent of that fund. WBRS would lose about $4,100; Archon $3,800; and the Justice $2,800.

Student Events, by far the wealthiest of the secured organizations, stands to lose $10,000 of its budget of more than $200,000. But, according to former BTV president Nate Westheimer '05, the programming board is openly supportive of the amendment.

"They want to see us supporting ourselves," he said.

BTV currently receives the movies it airs from Student Events after they are screened during the movie series each semester.

Westheimer is spearheading the campaign for the amendment. He said the campaign started at the beginning of last semester. He "challenged" BTV's staff to show that the station is stretching its current resources and worthy of additional funding.

The challenge, Westheimer said, has been met, especially with the addition of live broadcasts of home basketball games this past winter. He said broadcasting the games was a "mere dream" of both students and administrators.

This would not be the first time in recent memory that BTV successfully changed the parameters of student activities funding. The station replaced the now-defunct magazine The Watch as a secured media organization in fall 2002 through an amendment that passed with approximately 80 percent support, according to Westheimer.

One of BTV's largest problems, according to Westheimer and current station president Julia Gordon '07, is that its programming is produced with the kinds of consumer-grade equipment available at any shopping mall or big-box retailer like Wal-Mart or Best Buy. Not using high-end equipment, they said, causes BTV's productions to appear less like professional television and more like homemade videos.

"It's a huge problem," Westheimer said.

David Fudman, the editor in chief of the Justice said he is worried that the ramifications of the BTV amendment may compromise the newspaper's ability to report on campus happenings.

"A $3,000 cut to our budget means we may be forced to reduce the number of issues we print per year, possibly preventing us from delivering important and time-sensitive news to the community," he said.

Archon editors have voiced similar concerns.

But the prevailing wisdom, at least among BTV staffers and some members of the Union government, is that the amendment will pass.

Westheimer and Gordon say that the students they approached unanimously supported the amendment as well as a majority of Union senators.

Union Treasurer Aaron Gaynor '05, who is launching a campaign for the Union presidency this week, said he expects the BTV proposal will pass. Student activities funds, Gaynor said, are a "reflection of how students want their money spent."

BTV's amendment for more funding comes on the heels of the creation of a Union task force to review the overall distribution of student activities money. But given the long-range mission of that committee, Gordon said BTV needs more immediate change to its finances.

-David Cutler contributed to this story.