Top Seven LUSU Achievements of 2026
2025/26 was a busy year here at LUSU…
From parking to Roses, here are seven of the top things we did in the academic year for students!
1. Car Parking Win!
Earlier in the academic year, the university introduced a new campus parking policy which involved a move to 24/7 automated enforcement, where parking in the evenings and weekends used to be free.
But, through a social media campaign, and a number of negotiation meetings with the university, 25/26 LUSU President Rory O’Ceallaigh was able to get permission to administer a new out of hours parking permit. The permit allows you to park on campus between 6pm to 8am Monday to Friday, and all weekend—for £25 per vehicle.
This was a huge win for LUSU, providing students the support they need to make it onto campus.
2. Alleviating Period Poverty
For many years, students have campaigned for the availability of free period products on campus and in many instances, students have taken the responsibility on themselves, providing pads and tampons to Colleges and departments.
In their role as 25/26 Wellbeing Officer, Leah Buttery continued the work of students to advocate for free products all across campus. From proposing a number of suitable locations, to visiting a lot (like, a lot) of toilets across campus to find the best possible places for period products in both gendered and non-gendered spaces.
Thanks to our work alongside Leah, we’re hoping that period products should be available for free across campus in the upcoming academic year!
3. Post-Graduate Research Spaces
In 2025, the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences faced a large-scale restructure which involved many departments moving to new locations across the university. This included the relocation of all FHASS Postgraduate Research students into the top floor of Bowland Annex, sharing one space rather than the previous smaller shared offices.
For many PGR students, the new location impacted both their study and socialising needs. And so, LUSU (and your 25/26 Education Officer Liz Gillett) worked with PGRs to resolve some of these issues. This included a report collating all concerns, a collective group of around 80 FHASS PGR students working on the issue, and conversations with senior university management.
4. Sport Access Fund
There can be many barriers for students when it comes to taking part in sport and physical activity at university. Whether it’s the cost of travel, equipment, uniform, memberships, or other financial barriers.
But after months of discussion and collaboration with the uni, 25/26 Activities Officer Emily Houston-Woods was able to secure £15,000 in funding to launch a Sports Access Fund for students at Lancaster!
The Access Fund has helped to ensure that no student is excluded from sport due to financial hardship.
5. Developing Sensory Spaces
Sensory rooms are quiet spaces with controlled stimuli that help reduce stress and overstimulation and increase focus. The spaces are often utilised by neurodivergent communities, and can include controllable light features and temperatures, projectors, bean bags and more.
Alongside the Accessibility Community, the 25/26 Education Officer, Liz Gillett, worked on a proposal to the university for the inclusion of a sensory room on campus. This included creating an open Minecraft Server where students could create their own ideal sensory room!
6. Student Loans
Our work doesn’t stop in Lancaster — sometimes we take it national. Last academic year, the 25/26 LUSU President Rory and LUSU Wellbeing Officer Leah took on the governments student loan system.
Calling it ‘unfit for purpose’, Rory, Leah, and the National Union of Students (NUS) worked nationally to make real change to the way students pay for university. This included responding to a national inquiry, and chatting with the BBC!
7. A Record-breaking Roses!
2026 saw the return of Roses to Lancaster campus—an annual sports competition held over the first weekend of May, in which we compete against York university in a revamped War of the Roses.
And on the competition’s 60th anniversary, Lancaster made history by winning the tournament for the fifth time in a row — the longest run of consecutive wins Roses has ever seen!
Not to keep bragging, but we also won with 241.5 points to York’s 120.5… the biggest overall score that has ever been achieved at a Roses tournament!
This isn’t everything LUSU and our officers did — if we carried on, we’d be here for a while. But it is a glimpse into the work we do every day, and the work you will see from the newest batch of LUSU Full-Time Officers.
Whoever you are, you’re joining a union that cares about you.
Written by Shannon Daniel
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & CREATIVE WRITING GRADUATE
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