Back in February the most recent round of referenda were held. Thanks to all of those who voted. The exercising of democratic processes like these are a key part of your experience as students at LSE and are crucial in helping LSESU understand your concerns, needs and priorities.
Students approved five proposals:
- That LSESU should lobby departments to host formal dinners and events to strengthen student community, encourage academic discussion, and enhance LSE’s reputation.
- That LSESU should reform its internal operations to improve efficiency, transparency, communication, and student engagement.
- That LSESU should disaffiliate from the National Union of Students (NUS UK).
- That LSESU should continue to seek dialogue with LSE senior leadership to press for full and meaningful divestment from fossil fuels and weapons, including indirect investments.
- That LSESU should support a student-led boycott of the National Student Survey (NSS) as a means of applying pressure for ethical investment and improved institutional accountability.
For those hungry for detail, a full breakdown of the results can be found here.
We are thrilled to announce that work is already underway on the first three motions and that disaffiliation with NUS UK has started, though that process is expected to take 18 months.
As far as the proposed student-led boycott of the NSS is concerned, it is the opinion of legal counsel that supporting such a boycott may be at odds with LSESU’s charitable purpose as an education charity. As a result, LSESU’s trustee board is unwilling to put our resource and efforts into such an action. We do however recognise the sentiment that these results reflect, and students are of course free to boycott the survey themselves if they choose.
If you don’t want to miss any updates on these motions or news about forthcoming referenda, make sure you follow LSESU on socials (all links below).
If you’ve got any questions about the referendum process, just give us a shout at su.representation@lse.ac.uk