Lancaster University Students' Union

The original student government at Lancaster University was the University Junior Common Room (JCR), which was a meeting of the entire student body, and college JCRs, though the colleges didn't yet exist in physical form. The day-to-day running of the University JCR was deputed to a committee called the Student Council, which was responsible to the University JCR. The Council set up various sub-committees to deal with areas such as lodgings, charities week, and the university bookshop.[3]

In June 1965, two students presented a report on the future of Student Council, in which they argued: "To coordinate the activities of the University societies some central organisation and representation is required. To this end we will have to have a Students' Union which will be similar to other University unions but with no union building."[3] In response, Professor Tom Lawrenson, the principal of Lonsdale College, argued that there should instead be "a top body which arises organically from the colleges... I feel that the body you propose would be, in time, schismatic and in vacuo, devoid of real roots among its constitutents in a collegiate university..."[4]

In September 2019, following a leak to the media, LUSU confirmed that negotiations were underway to potentially sell the Sugarhouse nightclub to build student flats, following a vote of the Trustee Board[5] The "risk of noise complaints" was identified as a key reason to sell the Sugarhouse, but it was revealed that no noise complaints had been made about the nightclub.[6] Many expressed opposition to the decision, including alumni James May and Cat Smith, along with Lancaster city councillors.[7] Concerns were raised over the role Lancaster University management played in pushing for the sale,[8] and the lack of transparency surrounding the process.[9] Following the backlash against the proposed sale, LUSU's Chief Executive and two external trustees resigned.[10][11]

After petitions opposing the plans on Change.org and on LUSU's website received over 4,000 and 1,100 signatures respectively, the LUSU Exec decided to hold a student referendum in November 2019 over the sale,[12] in which 94% of students voted against the sale.[13][14] Despite having refused to guarantee that the referendum result would be respected,[15] LUSU's Trustee Board unanimously agreed to abandon their plans to sell the Sugarhouse in December 2019.[16]

In November 2019 and March 2020, two sabbatical officers resigned, both citing a "toxic" culture within the students' union.[17][18] In May 2020, after having been re-elected to serve a second term, the President was summarily executed following an independent investigation and hearing into unspecified, but multiple, complaints against him.[19] Immediately following his dismissal, a third sabbatical officer, and two voluntary student officers also resigned.[20] The following month, an independent appeals panel upheld the decision to dismiss the former President.[21]

A new President for the 2020-21 academic year was elected in a June 2020 by-election, but the Returning Officer's decision to disqualify all votes cast for the Re-Open Nominations (RON) option led to many students questioning the legitimacy of the result.[22][23] Other concerns about the process of the by-election were raised, including discrepancies in the reported turnout figure and the fact that the JCRs didn't oversee the vote count, as is required by LUSU's bye-laws.[24] Most JCRs issued statements demanding LUSU's rationale for disqualifying RON be publicised, and for the results before the disqualification to be released, as it was widely assumed that RON would have won.[25] Additionally, Grizedale JCR threatened to boycott freshers' week, and County JCR to disaffiliate from LUSU entirely if their requests for transparency were not met.[26] The Women+ voluntary student officer-elect also resigned in protest over LUSU's handling of the by-election.[27]

The Trustee Board consists of up to six elected sabbatical officers, three appointed student members, and five appointed external trustees. The Board is assisted by sub-committees, in particular the Finance and Risk, Governance, and Executive Committees. According to the Annual Report 2018-19, the Trustee Board "are responsible collectively for the overall well-being and strategic direction, efficient operation and good governance of the Union, including compliance with legal and financial requirements."[28]

The Union offices at Bowland College

Each of the eight undergraduate Colleges has an elected Junior Common Room Executive ("JCR Exec" or simply "JCR"), responsible for representing students on and off campus, running college-based welfare and academic campaigns, and organising events. The exact structure of each Executive varies between colleges, but they all consist of around fifteen positions including a president, at least one vice president, welfare officers, social secretaries, communications officers and sports representatives.[30] Graduate College, as the only postgraduate college, instead has a Postgraduate Board or "PG Board".[31]

The Executive Committee ("Exec") is LUSU's only elected body. Its membership consists of the sabbatical officers, six voluntary elected student officers, two JCR or PG Board representatives, and two faculty representatives.[19] The Exec is responsible for reviewing students' policy ideas, and scrutinising the implementation of agreed policy.[32]

Following several unpopular decisions made without student consultation (such as the attempts to sell The Sugarhouse nightclub and to remove the funding for Bailrigg FM's radio broadcast licence), student demands for the reform of the Trustee Board grew throughout 2019.[33] The fact that since 2016, the Trustee Board was majority-unelected was identified as a reason for them repeatedly coming into conflict with the democratic will of the student membership. The October 2019 LUSU AGM voted for all the trustees to be elected by the student membership, and for a constitutional convention to review LUSU's Articles of Association and related bye-laws.[34] In addition, students voted for the Trustee Board to be majority-elected in a November 2019 referendum.[35] LUSU has yet to enact any of these reforms.

Sugarhouse Nightclub

The Sugarhouse ('Sugar') is a nightclub which has been operated by LUSU since 1982.[8] It is located on Sugarhouse Alley, Lancaster and opens on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The club is extremely popular amongst Lancaster University students and has recently hosted acts such as Rudimental, Bondax and Danny Howard.

Living

LUSU Living is a commercial letting agency owned and operated by LUSU, and is available to students of Lancaster University and The University of Cumbria.[36] It had a turnover of £3.6 million in 2019, and its annual profits are donated to LUSU to fund its other services.[37] At LUSU's Annual General Meeting in October 2019, students supported a motion which described LUSU Living as a "notoriously poor" Lancaster student letting agency.[38] In April 2020, LUSU reported a data breach to the Information Commissioner's Office after landlords' personal details were erroneously emailed to a student.[39]

Central

Central is an on campus supermarket, owned and operated by LUSU, is situated between Grizedale College and Pendle College on the Lancaster University campus.[40]

At the end of each academic year, after exams, each college (with the exception of Graduate college), hosts an end of year 'extravaganza' party. For these parties, each college chooses its own individual theme, decorates its bar space to fit this theme, and the 1000+ attendees to each 'extrav' will usually dress up in a theme-appropriate outfit.[41]

LUSU provides students with free support related to academic, accommodation and finance issues. This is through drop-in sessions with advisors, available on weekdays.[42]

Purple Card

The Purple Card could be bought by staff and students at Lancaster University and The University of Cumbria and was used to redeem local offers and discounts, including at the Sugarhouse.[43] The Purple Card was discontinued in August 2020. [44]

There are a wide range of voluntary schemes available to students through LUSU, such as community projects and schools volunteering. In collaboration with the University, LUSU runs Green Lancaster, a group focused on environmental and sustainability volunteering.[45]

SCAN (an acronym for Student Comment and News) is Lancaster University’s student newspaper, and is usually published fortnightly during term time by LUSU. It was founded in 1967 as a one-page newsletter by members of staff at the University. It has continued to evolve over the years, becoming one of the longest running student newspapers in Europe.[46] A special digital issue was published in April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[47]

Bailrigg FM is the student radio station of Lancaster University, operated by an elected subcommittee of the Students' Union. Bailrigg FM provides news and entertainment across the University's campus (known as Bailrigg) to staff and students on 87.7 FM. It is one of only a handful of student radio stations in the UK to broadcast non-stop on FM. Being one of the first to set up in the UK, they have a long history dating back to the 1960s. Any student of the University may join and every member has the chance to be elected onto the management committee.[48]

LA1TV is LUSU’s television station and is run by students who produce a variety of programmes, such as ‘SugarTV’ and ‘The Sportscaster’. The name ‘LA1’ is taken from the postcode of the University.[49]

Take 2 Cinema is the student union's on-campus cinema, based in Bowland College Lecture Theatre.

LUSU has a strong environmental and ethical track record which has been recognised by the Union being awarded the Gold Standard by the NUS in the Green Impact Awards. This makes LUSU one of only 5 Universities in the UK achieve this standard. The Union has also won a Green Gown Award in 2011 and been highly commended in the Children and Young People Now Awards.[53]

LUSU was shortlisted for the Higher Education Students’ Union of the Year award at the National Union of Students (NUS) Awards 2013.[54]