The Board of Trustees’ decision taken last month will take effect on 1 August 2026, with no plans to revisit the changes.
King’s College London Students’ Union (KCLSU) is expected to abolish its liberation networks and academic associations next academic year and reorganise them as activity groups, Roar can reveal. The sabbatical officer role of VP Welfare & Community, who sits on KCLSU’s Board of Trustees, is expected to be modified and renamed to VP Equality & Liberation.
The decision – made by the Board of Trustees last month – will take effect from 1 August 2026 through amendments to KCLSU’s bye-laws. It is unclear whether the modifications to the role of the already-elected VP Welfare & Community for 2026/27 – Adithi Sathiyan – will enter into effect on the same date.
According to their website, KCLSU’s student liberation networks exist to “provide community, empowerment and representation to groups often marginalised in society”. These include the Disabled Students, LGBTQ+ and Women’s Networks. Meanwhile, academic associations represent student communities, their departments and faculties, such as the Dental and Law Councils.
“A drastic cut to liberation work”
From a letter to KCLSU (17 June 2026)
The reforms have been met by vocal opposition from multiple student liberation networks and activity groups. In a letter to the Board of Trustees seen by Roar, signatories from three liberation networks claimed that there are “plans in the works to remove the Network representative structure” whilst “modifying and replacing the VP Welfare & Community with an Equality and Liberation Officer.”
The letter described the reforms as a “drastic cut to liberation work” at King’s, arguing that the reforms will lead to the “overstretching” of the modified officer position and lead to “instability around representation of lived experience”, as reorganising the networks into activity groups opens them up to the risk of future deratification.
The network leads alleged that “at no point” were they consulted about the proposals, which they said were a “direct attack on liberation at an incredibly pressurised time”. The letter also expresses their intention to contact student media outlets and the National Union of Students to escalate their opposition further.
“There are no plans to revisit the decision”
From a reply from KCLSU (18 June 2026)
Replying to the letter on 18 June, a representative of KCLSU wrote that:
“The Board of Trustees was satisfied that the proposals had been developed and approved through the appropriate democratic and governance processes…
As the relevant governance processes have now concluded and the amendments to the Bye-Laws have been adopted, there are no plans to revisit the decision.”
KCLSU has been approached for further comment by Roar, but have not responded.
About the authors
