The London School of Economics Students' Union (LSESU) is the primary representative and campaigning body for students at the London School of Economics (LSE). Like other students' unions, it also funds and facilitates student activities of campus, including societies, sports clubs through the Athletics Union (AU), the Media Group, and Raising and Giving (RAG) charitable fundraising initiatives.

The Union is affiliated with the National Union of Students (NUS), as well as being part of the federal Union for University of London students.

History In 1905, the Students' Union founded the Clare Market Review journal, which ran until 1973 and has since been revived in 2008. The Athletics Union (AU) was created as a constituent body of the Union in the 1940s, and The Beaver newspaper was established in 1947.

Activism LSE Students' Union made international headlines in the late 1960s during the well-documented LSE student riots in 1966–67 and 1968–69. In 1967, David Adelstein, president of the Students' Union, and Marshall Bloom, president of the Graduate Students' Association (that then existed as a parallel Union for postgraduates), were suspended from the School for taking part in a protest against the appointment of Walter Adams as Director of the School, in which a porter died of a heart attack. Adams had previously been in Rhodesia and was accused of complicity in the regime's white minority rule. The suspensions were reversed five days later, after students began a hunger strike in opposition to the move.

The Union once again made the news during 1969 for its student activism when students closed the School for three weeks. The protests were again against the appointment of Walter Adams as Director of the School and his installation of security gates at LSE. These initial security gates were removed by students.

On 24 October 1968, Adams, fearing an occupation and growing support by the students for the anti-Vietnam War demonstration on 27 October, decided to close the LSE for the weekend. As this questioned the right of the administration to close LSE against the wishes of lecturers and students, the move led to 3,000 students occupying. During the occupation, the School was policed against intruders, and cleaned; teach-ins and discussions were organised; and medical services were set up and staffed. The occupation ended that Sunday night.

In 1969, a "Free LSE" was organised at ULU in response to the suspension of lecturers Robin Blackburn and Nick Bateson. The radical tradition of the Union continued in the 1970s. However, in 1971 there was a reaction against the student activism of the previous 5 years. It was seen as a major swing against the student activism of previous years, but after his term ended the Union returned to its previous status albeit far less activist. The banner of the Students' Union in the early 1980s stated "Arm the workers and students – Education is a right not a privilege". Occupations of LSE occurred throughout the 1980s, including the 1983 occupation to secure the LSE Nursery. The name of the lead officer of the Union was changed from "President" to "General Secretary" during this period. In 1984 the Students' Union passed a resolution supporting the National Union of Mineworkers which included a payment to families of those on strike. The General Secretary, Edward Lucas, resigned claiming that such a payment would be "ultra vires". Following the subsequent by-election, David Jackson succeeded Edward Lucas as General Secretary, declaring "We've won this election after one week's campaigning, these miners have been fighting for their jobs for eight months, now we can give them the support we voted for and they deserve...". The issue was resolved through a benefit concert whose proceeds were donated to miners' families. Meanwhile, Raising and Giving (RAG) Week activities were set up by future New Zealand MP Tim Barnett in the same period.

In 1986, LSE students occupied the Old Building for seven days, to protest against LSE investment in South African companies supporting the apartheid regime, following a decade of earlier such occupations and protests on US campuses. When the riot police attempted to storm the building, the students left immediately en masse without confrontation, marching to South Africa House to protest outside the Embassy, leaving the police at the Old Building in confusion.

In 1989, the Students' Union elected Winston Silcott, one of the Tottenham Three who were originally convicted of the murder of PC Keith Blakelock during the Broadwater Farm riot, as Honorary President as a protest against miscarriages of justice. Silcott was released when the evidence used to convict him was found to be unsafe, but the Students' Unions decision led to national press attention and a large amount of hate mail, including death threats sent to officers, that led then General Secretary Amanda Hart to go into hiding.

In 2005, the Athletic Union's "Barrell" event led to students doing a "fun run" down to King's College London and causing £30,000 of damage to the college's buildings. Historically there is a rivalry between the LSE Students' Union and those at King's College. Students from LSE stopped MP Enoch Powell speaking at Kings by occupying the lecture theatre and blowing whistles, followed by a small section of Kings students retaliating by leading a violent attempt to steal election ballot boxes during the 1983 officer elections.

In 2015 the Vera Anstey Room in the Old Building was occupied for six weeks by "Occupy LSE", an organisation not officially affiliated with the LSESU, in protest against the perceived neo-liberalisation of LSE and the UK Higher Education system. The occupation ended after nine of their demands were met by the LSE management. In this time they also proclaimed the establishment of "The Free University of London" and noted the depoliticised nature of the LSE campus, including the LSESU.

Facilities

Building In 2009, LSE began a £35m project for to build a new building that would house the Students' Union. Known as the Saw Swee Hock Student Centre, it is the second part of LSE's wider estate investment plan, following the opening of the New Academic Building (NAB) in 2008. The centre was the first new structure on the School campus for more than forty years, and aimed to be the "best student building in the world." The building opened in January 2014 and houses the LSE Residences and Careers department. The remaining circa 80% of the new building is Students' Union space, including a 1000-person capacity venue, the Three Tuns bar, gym, aerobics studio, advice centre, media room (with radio booths), sixth-floor roof terrace, Union offices (including Sabbatical Officers'), and two cafés. The cafés do not sell beef for environmental reasons.

External sports facilities Off campus, LSE rents a sport ground, known as Berrylands, in New Malden, Surrey, where the LSESU Athletics Union (AU) sports clubs play.

Governance The governance of LSESU has changed little in its history, run by a 12-strong directly elected "cabinet", known as the Executive Committee ("Exec") who are also the Trustees of the union.

Four of these positions (General Secretary, Education, Welfare & Community, and Activities & Development) are full-time positions, known as Sabbatical Officers or "Sabbs". These are LSE students who have either completed their degree and elected to stay on another year, or students taking a year out from their studies to fulfil the role. Unusually, the Postgraduate sabbatical officer works part-time, but is paid. A salary of £30,000 per academic session is paid for each of the full-time roles. A fifth position of Postgraduate Officer is part-time and receives two-fifths of the full-time salary. A recent UGM motion capped their salaries after criticism that their pay was too high, however it remains the highest in the country compared to other students' unions. They are paid the average LSE graduates' starting salary. Sabbs hold no more constitutional weight on the Executive than the part-time officers, each holding one vote.

Until 2010, the "Exec" (except AU President and Returning Officer), were all trustees of the LSESU, and legally represented the Union, entering into contracts and representing the organisation in court. These trustees were all individually legally responsible for the Union's activities: they ensure the Union is compliant with legislation, they oversee its financial management, and they prioritise its resources on behalf of all the members.

Union General Meeting (UGM) The UGM is the sovereign body of the Union, where motions and ideas are discussed and debated. Any two people can move a motion on any subject, which is then debated at the UGM. Regular meetings are also held with the School's Director, and the heads of both ULU and the NUS.

Notable Sabbatical Officers John Moore, Baron Moore of Lower Marsh Martin Lewis – General Secretary 1994/5 Gary Delaney – Entertainments Officer 1994/5

Recent Campaigns

Ethics

In 2005, the Union campaigned successfully to secure a Living Wage for the cleaners on campus and within the LSE's residences. The campaign was led by students, cleaners, academics and The East London Citizens Organisation (TELCO) and has involved several protests, petitions, motions and lobbying of the School's administration in an effort to lift cleaners out of poverty pay.

In 2006, the Union also voted to divest from fourteen listed arms companies and are currently lobbying the School to do the same. In 2008-9 the priority campaign of the Union was to save the on-campus nursery from closure. In 2009–10 the Union lobbied LSE to allow students to have resits in their examinations.

In protest to LSE's ties to Libya's Gaddafi regime, the Students' Union led demonstrations and occupations, including one of the Director's office. The Union was chiefly responsible for LSE agreeing to convert all £300,000 it had received from Gaddafi into scholarships for Libyan students.

Following a motion passed in March 2011, the priority campaign for 2011–12 was The Only Way is Ethics, campaigning for an ethical investment policy after the LSE–Gaddafi affair, as well as a one-person, one vote system for electing a new Director after Howard Davies' resignation.

Palestinian Issue

The LSE Students' Union, and particularly its Palestine Society, has campaigned in solidarity with Palestine and Palestinian students.

In 2007, the Union voted to twin with An-Najah National University Students' Council in Nablus, Palestine, and to affiliate to the Right to Education Campaign in support of the Palestinian Right to Education. In the same year, LSE students elected as Honorary Vice President Khaled Al-Mudallal, a Bradford University student of Palestinian origin who was detained in Gaza.

In January 2009, a 40-strong occupation of LSE's Old Theatre by the Union's Palestine Society occurred in protest to the Gaza War, as part of a wave of occupations across British universities. LSE students and alums also began a campaign to allow a student, Othman Sakallah, to be able to leave Gaza and continue his studies at the university, which was supported by the Students' Union.

In late 2009, the LSE Students Union passed a resolution to twin with the Islamic University of Gaza and support the Right to Education for students in Gaza. In 2011, the Students' Union successfully ended LSE contracts with Israeli water company Eden Springs.

At the 2014 Annual General Meeting, the Union departed from this line of activism and affiliated to "Save a Child's Heart", an Israeli-based international humanitarian project, whose mission is to improve the quality of paediatric cardiac care for children from developing countries who suffer from heart disease. This was seen as a symbolic move by the Union to recognise the importance of coexistence in the region.

Fees and education