Speak Up!

Welcome to our new Speak Up page! The LSESU wants to hear from all its students. If you have comments, suggestions or improvements you want to see in the Union, fill in the online form below and we will try our best to address each and every one!

All you have to do is tick the section of the Union that most applies to your query, leave your contact details, and finally, keep your eyes peeled on the website for our response. To see the response, click on the relevant box.

So have your say, we're listening!

Submission Form

"The SU should deal with more issues related to international students, e.g. visas."
"The Green projects are a good start but it needs more promotion."
"More people to the UGMs this year would be great"
"The Students’ Union seems very approachable so far, but Fresher’s Fair should have been split over more days."
"How can the SU get more students involved in the NUS demo in November and out on the street?"
"I'd like to see student diversity increased in the Students' Union ."
"The SU is great at showcasing events and have great facilities"
"Talk to more students"
"Catering prices for societies is too expensive and causing people to look elsewhere"
"It would be nice to have more sports facilities e.g. volleyball on campus so we don’t have to travel for training"
"Regular social activities for Phd students e.g.speed-mating and cross-departmental PGR contact "
" Please could we have more information about UGMs for research students "
"Is there a PGR common room? We'd love to have a space to eat, socialise and communicate. "
"Can we have the petting zoo again…but Christmas themed?!! "
"UGMs are a waste of time and have questionable political legitimacy, as demonstrated by extremely poor turnout... "

"More issues related to international students"

With our International Students Officer Diana Yu, I have been liaising with the NUS to co-ordinate a response to the British Government's treatment of our overseas colleagues. We hope to get as many people marching to oppose the disgraceful treatment of many of our comrades, especially with regards to the issues surround visas and police registration. I would like to get as many first-hand accounts of problems that you have had coming into the United Kingdom and living here, so please get in touch. In light of the furore over London Metropolitan, it is vital that we defend education for everyone in this country, be they international, EU or domestic. (Jack Tindale, Community and Welfare Officer)

"The Green projects are a good start but it needs more promotion."

We are continuing to work with the School on environmental projects, for example, the Students’ Union Roof Garden can be found on the 5th floor of the East Building and our Environment and Ethics Officer, Naomi Russell, is keen to set up new projects and campaigns. Particularly, Naomi is working to coordinate all the environmental and ethical societies at LSE. Email su.environment@lse.ac.uk with your ideas and get involved!

"More people to the UGMs this year would be great"

Making the union as democratic and participatory is a top priority and so far, we have made a big effort to get more people to come to our UGMs. We have changed the format so it encourages more debate amongst a wider variety of students, we have made it more interactive by using voting pads, we have organised for interesting speakers to attend our debates for example Liam Burns (NUS President) and Frank Dobson (MP). Why not have a look at the UGM webpage and get involved with the #lsesudebate? (Laura Pedley, Democracy Coordinator)

"The Students’ Union seems very approachable so far, but Fresher’s Fair should have been split over more days."

Thank you! At two days long, the LSESU Fresher’s fair is longer than most UK Students’ Unions. Orientation lasted two weeks with various welcome events and activities. The Activities Resource Centre (the ARC) in the Quad is open every day and staff are more than happy to answer any questions you may have post-Freshers.

"How can the SU get more students involved in the NUS demo in November and out on the street?"

This is a great point! So far, as part of our Defend Education campaign, we are actively encouraging students to come on the NUS demo. From having stalls on aHoughton Street, to online tweets and Facebook posts, we are advertising it as much as possible. If, you’d like to get involved with the campaign or more specifically involved with the demo, then check out our campaigns page where you can find out about our next meetings and get involved. Whether it’s in the form of making banners or contributing to the overall strategy of the campaign, the Sabbs could always do with extra volunteers so give them a shout.

"Increase student diversity at Union meetings and events."

LSE is famous for its diverse student base and we agree that this amazing diversity should be represented in the SU. This is wonderfully achieved through the many national and cultural societies that we have at the Students’ Union. We agree that there needs to be better representation of minority groups within the SU itself and so far, Union staff and the Anti-Racism officer Mohamed Harrath have had an initial meeting - one example of how we’ll be diversifying the Union, is through our campaigning. As well as the priority campaign – Defend Education - we’d really like the Union to be behind and supportive of more societies and groups who want to campaign about different issues related to Anti-Racism, Equality and Diversity. If you have any ideas for campaigns, please email Mohamed Harrath or the Union’s Student Engagement Assistant Claudia Coussins. One campaign we’re currently working on is our opposition to the Home Office’s Prevent Agenda on British university campuses, the Agenda is meant to target radicalism and extremism on campus, though the approach unfortunately targets Muslim students and many feel that the scheme is discriminatory and encourages spying. Read here for more information. We are arranging a meeting with the International Students Officer and other relevant people to see how we can make union engagement more inclusive. Thank you for your feedback! (Mohamed Harrath, Anti-Racism Officer)

"The SU is great at showcasing events and have great facilities."

Thanks! Why not try out our gym, squash courts and other sporting facilities - have look at the following link for more information on the LSE sportsgrounds, campus spaces, and the LSESU gym.

"Talk to more students"

This term, we have already organised a number of events on Houghton Street which have involved the sabbatical officers, the part-time officers and staff from the SU. Being on campus and having face-to-face contact with students is important to the SU and we will carry on doing this whether it’s in the form of the Defend Education campaign or the Debt bar-o-meter. The sabbatical officers are always more than happy to chat so feel free to pop into their office (The Kingsley Rooms) in the Quad. We hope that this new Speak Up page makes it even more convenient to contact us.

"Catering prices for societies is too expensive and causing people to look elsewhere"

Good question! The event catering is a service for societies and officers as suggested but we need cover costs like any other organisation and if we reduce prices any further we would not cover costs at all! We have to pay for staff, buy in the goods, consumables, equipment maintenance and cleaning to name just a few. The more people that use us the more likely we can reduce prices in the longer term! We strive to deliver the best service possible, and think that the knowledge and care we will take over your event more than makes up for the difference. We always want to improve our services so encourage feedback, good or bad, on any of our catering. (John Bloomfield Resources Director)

"It would be nice to have more sports facilities e.g. volleyball on campus so we don’t have to travel for training"

I agree it would be ideal to have more extensive sports facilities on campus however space is at a premium given the location of the LSE campus. There are smaller sports practice and rehearsal spaces available for students, clubs and societies to book out, these include a dance studio and badminton court. In addition to this the SU commits considerable resources to providing students with sufficient and suitable facilities with which to practice and perform either competitively or recreationally. Challenging the example that you offer of having just one volleyball court to practice on weekly, I would point to the space hired for practice and matches that the SU has recently secured at the Jubilee Sports Centre and Queen Mother Sports Centre (providing three spaces/timeslots per week) as an example of the Student Union’s on-going commitment to fulfilling the demand for facilities. If you would like further information on any sports that the SU currently offer or could do in the future, please feel free to get in contact with me (Thomas Hilson, Sports Development Co-ordinator) ,

"Regular social activities for Phd students e.g.speed-mating and cross-departmental PGR contact"

This year, the Union is making it a priority to create more social activities for research students. We have already organised two social events this term and will continue to do so more regularly – Speed Mating is a great idea! The next event will be a PGR end-of-term party in the George Pub on December 12th. We have secured a budget of approximately £1000 for social events and activities for the year. Research students can spend this as they see fit so if you’d like to put yourself forward to be in charge of the budget by forming a social committee and organising events, please contact the Union’s Engagement Assistant. There will also be a PGR common room in the East building soon so watch this space for more information! (Dave Lewis, Engagement Manager)

" More information about UGMs for research studentst"

The UGM is a weekly meeting where any student can propose, speak for or against policy that shapes the Union's campaigns and ultimately the School.The UGM is held every Thursday at 1pm in the Old Theatre, all LSE students are welcome.During each UGM people of every political persuasion get up to speak (including special guests like the School's Director and Presidents of the NUS and ULU) and you'll be entertained by some of the top debaters in the country going at it. Heckling, jokes and banter are strongly encouraged! To make sure all PGR students know about it, more information will be sent out in the next email to all PGR students. Please contact the me (Laura Pedley, Democracy Coordinator)

" Is there a PGR common room? We'd love to have a social space. "

The bad news is that there is no common room at the moment but the fantastic news is that there is one on the horizon! The SU have been working with some postgraduate research students to organise a new room in the East building just for PhD students. If you are a PhD student and you'd like to get involved in planning the new common room, please contact the Student Engagement Assistant (Jack Tindale, Community and Welfare Officer);

"Can we have the petting zoo again…but Christmas themed?!! "

On the last day of the Michaelmas Term we had reindeer and costumed handlers out on Houghton street. RAG were raising money for their chosen charities by handing out mince pies, plastic coffee containers, candy canes and hot chocolate (with the option of adding Baileys!). The 3 Tuns was playing Christmas songs all day and the quad was decked out in decorations. Watch this space though for another petting zoo in the Summer (Matt De Jesus, Activities and Development Officer). ;

"UGMs are a waste of time and have questionable political legitimacy, as demonstrated by extremely poor turnout..."

QUESTION CONTINUED...Would the SU be opposed to instituting a new system - which works in other colleges, who regularly have hundreds of people attend SU councils - where each class has a class rep (or several class reps, depending on the size of the class), elected at the start of term, who attends council and votes on behalf of their class. Any union member could still attend and speak at council and of course lobby their rep to vote on a particular issue. At the moment, the perception of the Union is that its a load of hacks who don't really care about getting the opinions of those who aren't massively involved, evidenced by the fact that the MT elections were really badly advertised. Having a rep in a class might well go some way towards changing that. RESPONSE: The SU is reviewing the UGM this term, as we want to be engaging more students. We have already implemented things such as Sabb Questions where you can find out what your representatives have been up to each week, and have the opportunity to ask them questions. Unfortunately revising the UGM is not a simple task; it requires a change in the constitution, which in turn requires a referendum. Please contact me for more information (Laura Pedley, Democracy Coordinator)

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