The Student Union protested the administration's decision to accept Student Events' proposal to receive its funding directly from the Department of Student Activities with a rally in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium last Sunday night.Another protest will be held Thursday in front of the administrative complex, Director of Union Affairs Jason Gray '10 said. "It's no longer about Student Events," he said. "It's about the administration not caring about the student body."

The proposal to receive 17 percent of the SAF-1 percent of each student's tuition bill-was accepted by Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy Nov. 26.

The Union submitted a written proposal to Student Events last Monday that outlined a compromise on this issue, Union President Shreeya Sinha '09 said. Sinha wouldn't disclose details of the proposal until Student Events responded.

While the Union calls Student Events' proposal unconstitutional and detrimental to the ideas of student autonomy and financial oversight, Student Events representatives said that bypassing the Finance Board will allow them to react faster, along with more flexibility and have more time to spend on event planning. The changes will be implemented this coming January for the start of next semester. Eddy declined to comment after multiple requests from the Justice.

Student Union Executive Board members and senators organized an informational event last Sunday evening on the controversy in the Shapiro Campus Center in place of an originally scheduled pep rally for former President Bill Clinton's visit to campus last Monday. Union officials encouraged students to sign a banner posing the question, "Should the Administration be able to Allocate your money?" as well as to sign petitions and letters addressed to Eddy.

"I believe in student autonomy, and I believe that the money that I pay to the Student Activities Fund should end up coming back to me as it is declared it should by the regulations that up until now [the] University has adhered to," said Adam Zemel '11, who signed his name on the banner. Some who signed the banner alluded to the American Revolution, quoting lines such as "No Taxation Without Representation" and "Don't Tread on Me."

Eddy wrote in a letter to the Union Monday Nov. 26 that she approved Student Events' proposal because of her concern about the state of social life at Brandeis. "Student Events, more than any other single student organization, is expected to provide the essential elements of the social life on this campus," she wrote. "[O]ur current model . is the least successful in providing a vibrant and multifaceted social life for everyone."

Eddy wrote in the letter that she would be willing to reevaluate her decision if the Student Union and Student Events can come to a mutual agreement. Union President Shreeya Sinha '09 explained that Eddy denied her request last Wednesday to delay the proposal's implementation until next fall, a request Sinha said she made in order to let the student body come up with a compromise to improve social life.

Last year, Union Officials said that the administration demarcated $105, 000 of that fund separately on the tuition bill as an Events Fee, even though it was still distributed by the F-Board with the rest of the SAF. According to the Union, the funding Student Events wanted to receive directly from Student Activities corresponds to that demarcation, which comprises 17 percent of the SAF.

Student Events Director Lauren Barish '08 has said that she believes Student Events deserves the ability to request funds from the F-Board in addition to the money the club would receive from the administration under its proposal. F-Board Chair Max Wallach '09, however, wrote in a letter to Barish that "Student Events will no longer be meeting the financial reporting requirements set forth by the Constitution, the Treasurer, or the Finance Board, and will therefore be ineligible to receive any portion of the Student Activities Fee."

In his letter, Wallach cited Article VII Section 6 of the Union Constitution,

which requires clubs to meet all constitutionally-compelled financial reporting requirements to be eligible to receive funding from the F-Board, in addition to Article III Section 4, which requires clubs to meet the same reporting requirements in order to receive SAF money.

The Union Senate passed a unanimous resolution opposing the decision at its Nov. 18 Senate meeting, arguing that Student Events violated the Union Constitution by submitting its proposal to the administration instead of changing the constitution through a student vote.

Director of Student Activities Stephanie Grimes acknowledged that by receiving its funds directly Student Activities, Student Events would be receiving $5,000 less than the amount of money the F-Board allocated to them this semester, but noted that the club's original proposal envisioned the possibility of the group procuring additional funding from the F-Board.

Grimes said the administration "is not governed by the Union Constitution." She described the Union Constitution as guiding principles for campus life, a role the Constitution would continue to have, she said.

Sinha, however, called the constitution a "social contract for all student organizations" and emphasized that students should be able to decide how their SAF money is spent. "The message being sent [by the administration] is that you are voiceless and this is an administrative decision," Sinha said.

Grimes said she was supportive of the decision because she thought it would allow Student Events "to concentrate on programming" as well as on gathering student input. .