LSU President

🎓🎉 Thank you and farewell, Loughborough! 🎓🎉

As my term as LSU President comes to an end, I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who has been a part of this incredible journey. It has been an honour and privilege to serve as your President, representing the vibrant and diverse student community of Loughborough University.

To all the students, staff, and volunteers who have dedicated their time and energy to making LSU the beating heart of campus life, thank you. Your passion, resilience, and unwavering support have inspired me every step of the way.

Together, we've achieved so much over the past year—creating memorable events, advocating for student welfare, driving positive change, and fostering a sense of belonging for all. From Freshers' Week to society activities to charity fundraisers, we've made lifelong memories and friendships that will endure.

I'd like to extend a special thank you to my incredible team at LSU and my amazing Executive Officers who have worked tirelessly alongside me. Your commitment and dedication have been truly remarkable, and I'm immensely proud of everything we've accomplished together.

Finally, to all the students of Loughborough University, make the most of your time here. Get involved, challenge yourself, and make a difference. Remember that LSU will always be your home, and the memories you create within these walls will stay with you forever.

Thank you once again, Loughborough, for an unforgettable chapter in my life. It's been an honour to serve you. Wishing you all the very best!

What a wonderful evening the LEAs were! We have your photobooth pictures here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kkEWSNXuVrm-bNOABiqjQjacQS7B1DLa?usp=sharing

Hope you all had a wonderful evening. Thank you all for attending and thank you to all our student volunteers!

Great night, great photos! Be sure to save yours!

This morning I took part in a Public Renters Sector Round Table to push and champion student views on the Renters Reform Bill. The government needs to ensure they are getting students' opinions in the absence of the NUS. One Student Union is not enough in these discussions.

Loughborough Students’ Union has been invited to join a round table discussion with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and other key parties to discuss student interests in the Private Rented Sector.

Proud to be a part of this achievement and discussion.

Also, have a look at my blog post over at Wonkhe

Students and high-quality, affordable housing - why don’t they get it? | Wonkhe Harry Hughes-Slattery makes the case for stopping seeing bad housing as a rite of passage, and moving towards seeing good housing as essential to learning and the student experience

Students are once again getting shafted! Not only does Student Finance continue to not increase in line with inflation, missing out on around £1,500, but they will also be expected to begin paying 9% back when they start earning £25,000 rather than £27,295

We at Loughborough Students' Union are proud to announce our new partnership with the Renters' Reform Coalition. We are proud to join this network of partners to continue to champion the student voice.

https://rentersreformcoalition.co.uk/our-supporters

🌃🌟 JOIN US FOR A NIGHT UNDER THE STARS 🌟🌃

We are excited to announce our partnership with Falcon Support Services for a sleep-out event on the Union Lawn.

The event will take place from 6pm-9am and will bring together multiple sections of LSU to raise awareness for homelessness in the UK.

With LSU Rag raising money for Falcon Support Services, and LSU Action running the soup kitchen on the night. This event is a charitable one and people can be sponsored or raise money individually.

To manage the number of participants, free tickets are now available for free on the LSU website: https://lsu.co.uk/events/id/2223-sleep-out-event

To sign up for a fundraising account head over to: https://falconsupportservices.enthuse.com/fundraising/start #!/

We invite everyone to join us for a night of community and making a difference. Let's come together to raise awareness for homelessness and make a positive impact to our community.

Date: Tuesday 9th May 2023

Time: 6:00 pm – 9:00 am

Location: Union Lawn

It is not surprising that 35% told Save the Student that they do not view their accommodation as good value for money. That's one in three students.

53% of students that pay rent said that they have struggled to keep up with the cost of it. When this stat is broken down, 11% found it a constant struggle, while 42% said they struggle from time to time. - Save the Student

A substantial proportion of student renters reported experiencing an issue in their rented home, with the main problems identified as excessive condensation (experienced by 44 per cent of renters), draughty windows and doors (42 per cent), and issues with damp and mould (40 per cent).

A national register of landlords, which requires evidence that landlords are meeting these minimum standards as a condition of registration and with registration removed from landlords who break the law, is crucial in ensuring that the Decent Homes Standard is effectively enforced.

Ending ‘no fault’ evictions would make a crucial difference and protect students from unliveable conditions. This also awards security in knowing they will not be unfairly evicted. The reform would allow us to challenge poor and illegal practices without risk of eviction.

Landlords will have to repay any upfront rent charged to a tenant if a tenancy ends earlier than the period paid for – this will limit the amount landlords can ask for in advance. Great news for international students, estranged and care-experienced students who struggle to provide a guarantor and are left at the mercy of advance-rent demands.

Today's Doctoral Researcher drop-in sessions will be held in the LSU building in our Student Hub and not its usual location of Graduate House.

Graduation Ball 🎓 has been relaunched with a new name and a new more inclusive date so more people can attend 🎉

The decision to switch the name and date of the newly named Summer Ball to June was based on both student feedback and a detailed cost analysis – we are all aware of the impact of the Cost-of-Living crisis, so having Summer Ball ☀️ held in term time means that attendees won’t need to worry about booking expensive 💰 hotels.

Read more here:

https://lsu.co.uk/news/article/Save-The-Date?fbclid=PAAaaaZNjSHkrS7FvZTNlM8NiBUw1GeX6bBEq1UBc5NPiTIrHVCRS8hPW--1Q

Save The Date! Announcing Summer Ball 2023! - Loughborough Students' Union Save The Date! Announcing Summer Ball 2023! We are delighted to announce that this year's Graduate Ball will be taking place on Saturday 17th June, and we have decided to rename it to ‘Summer Ball’. 30th March 2023 Share on Facebook Tweet on Twitter SAVE THE DATE! We are delighted to announce th...

The current tenancy system encourages student housing churn; the proposals in the Renters’ Reform Bill will facilitate students remaining in properties for their full three years of university with little hassle - students will become a greater part of the community. Town and Gown relations will only improve.

ACORN has also backed renter reforms, saying “Students then find themselves locked into rented properties with a number of issues, from disrepair to bullying and harassment, for the entire year of their studies. This significantly affects their mental health and education.”

Landlords and groups like the NRLA ultimately want to retain the power to charge students for the summer months when houses are often left empty – something they can only do using fixed-term tenancies. Their fear is the impact this will have on their pocket.

Since starting this role I have been harassed by landlords to support their amendments. I believe it is fundamentally wrong that the NRLA is pushing for exemptions to the Renters’ Reform Bill specifically for students. This will afford students fewer rights than other renters.

We also agree with students in Liverpool when they say “Rent increases are at an unsustainable level” and we join their calls for the government to freeze and control student rent nationally.

This isn’t just a Loughborough problem it’s a student and societal problem.

Loughborough Students' Union has released a joint statement with Loughborough University and the Loughborough UCU branch. Our position on the several strands of the disputes is summarised here: https://lsu.co.uk/ucu

Even in challenging times, the Loughborough family continue to work in the interests of one another.

UCU Industrial Action - Loughborough Students' Union The University and Colleges Union (UCU) has announced that they will be taking industrial action as a result of disputes with the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) over pay, working conditions and pensions.

Loughborough Students’ Union echoes the demands of the Renters' Reform Coalition. It’s time everyone including students has access to safe, affordable and quality housing.