Meet your LCOs for 2023/24
Wednesday 20-09-2023 - 12:45
Every year, we welcome a new team of student officers to lead your Students' Union. Your new officers have been busy at work all summer but who are they and what do you need to know?
What do officers do?
We have two main types of student officers at LUSU - FTOs and LCOs. More on FTOs later in the week but today, we are introducing your Liberation & Campaign Officers (LCOs)!
LCOs are volunteers working alongside their studies to represent students in specific marginalised student communities. We currently have six Liberation & Campaign Forums which are LGBTQ+, Postgraduate & Mature, International, Racial & Ethnic Minority, Women+ and Students with Disabilities. Your LCOs lead these forums working to build communities as well as leading campaigns and influencing change to improve the experience for these students beyond the forum spaces. LCOs sit on the Students' Union's Union Assembly which brings together a diverse group of students to deliberate and vote on what the SU believes in and where to focus its energies.
How did they get here?
You voted them in! In March*, over 2,000 of you took part in the Mega Elections and picked the students that you wanted to lead LUSU this year.
Meet the LCO team
Thomas Cross (they/them) - LGBTQ+ Students' Officer
Thomas is a third year History and Politics student, Student Trustee and the President of Politics Society. In their spare time, they love watching Doctor Who and playing badminton. They are aiming to make the forum a safe and comfortable place for all queer students at Lancaster while encouraging societies to sign an inclusion pledge, standing up for trans rights and delivering great events.
Molly O'Reilly-Kime (they/them) - Postgraduate & Mature Students' Officer
Molly has already graduated from Lancaster as a mature student with a BSc in Computer Science; they liked it so much that they are now researching for their PhD from within the School of Computing & Communications. This year, they hope to re-establish the Postgraduate & Mature (PGM) Students' Forum while ensuring that PGM students feel heard and represented and pushing for year-round postgraduate events and family-friendly spaces. In their spare time, you might find Molly reading books tangentially related to their field, playing video games or collecting tattoos.
Annika Budhrani (she/her) - International Students' Officer
Annika is a second-year Accounting & Finance student originally from the Phillipines. When she's not studying, Annika enjoys spending time with her friends, cooking up a storm, playing her guitar or reading a good book. Annika understands the challenges that international students can face while adjusting to student life in the UK. She hopes to make this a little easier for other international students by revitalising the International Students' Forum, creating new partnerships with international societies and delivering lots of meet and greet events for international students to connect with each other.
Aminah Mann (she/her) - Racial & Ethnic Minority Officer
Aminah is super excited be one of your Liberation & Campaign Officers and she hopes to be able to create positive change while supporting other students on their university journey. She is particularly passionate about inclusivity and diversity and she hopes that by reviving the Racial & Ethnic Minority Students' Forum she will be able to contribute to your overall satisfaction and wellbeing as a student at Lancaster.
Hana Dodsworth (she/her) - Women+ Officer
Hana is a third-year Law student and this is her second year as your Women+ Officer at LUSU. Hana loves meeting new people and discussing the issues that matter to students. She would love to start more conversations this year so don't hesitate to get in touch to discuss any matters relating to women+ experience at university.
Luke Halpin (he/him) and Rowan Birch (they/them) - Co-Students with Disabilities Officers
Luke and Rowan are working together as your co-Students with Disabilities (SwD) Officers. Luke is a PhD student in Computer Science reseraching assistive technology for students with ADHD. In his spare time, you will find at him at the Sports Centre as part of the Fencing Club or getting involved in projects to enhance diversity and inclusivity. Rowan is a History student interested in the historical experiences of marginalised groups within medicine and healthcare and they are excited to use their experience of being involved in the SwD Forum Exec. Together, they hope to improve the academic and wider student experiences of University life for students with disabilities at Lancaster.
Your Liberation & Campaign Officers will be busy during Freshers' Week supporting and welcoming new students, and launching campaigns, activities and more. Come and find them at Freshers' Fair to get involved or reach out on their socials above.
*Where positions weren't filled in the main elections, by-elections were held in Summer term and some LCOs were elected in June.
