After two years of student campaigning, LSESU announced that the school will be holding its first-ever Summer Ball on Saturday, 13 June, 2020. The Union released this information through a Facebook post on Wednesday, 11 December.
William Stein, a first-year Geography and Environment student at the time, told The Beaver, “The dream began on the 2nd of June, 2017, when I went to visit my friends in Leeds University and went to the Leeds Summer Ball.”
“For LSE and the LSESU to embrace the idea, it took evidence of demand,” Stein, head campaigner for the LSE Summer Ball, added. The petition in favour of the post-exam Ball, launched in February 2018, gathered over 1000 signatures in one year.
Following the petition, the campaign group crafted and proposed a UGM Motion, on 6 December 2018, which passed with 390 votes in
When asked about the campaign, Daigan Reid, a third-year PPE student and co-founder of LSE Summer Ball, told The Beaver that “at almost every turn, there were developments that stood to challenge our vision.” Reid urged students to continue to keep “a strong tab on the progress with the Summer Ball,” to ensure that it becomes a reality.
Looking back at the beginning of the campaign, Stein expressed his gratitude to former LSESU Community and Welfare Officer, Daniel Cayford, who, he said, “Was the first and only official figure to assist me. He laid out the route I needed to take in order to bring the idea to life.”
Ines Piana, a third-year Management student, spoke to The Beaver on behalf of LSE’s Student Events Team (SET). “I would like to say that I am extremely happy to see this project become a reality. Organizing a Summer Ball was always one of SET’s top ambitions so it’s truly exciting to see it happening.”
“Will Stein was the true mastermind behind the entire project, all the credit goes to him in our view, ” added Piana.
More information on the event will be released in Lent Term.
