Lancaster societies cancel socials to support ‘Girls Night In’

Societies have cancelled their socials this Wednesday to show support


Lancaster University societies are showing solidarity for the Girls Night In protest by cancelling their socials this Wednesday, 27th October.

The Sugarhouse has also announced that it will close to show solidarity with the boycott.

We reached out to Lancaster University societies about why they have cancelled their socials to support @lancasternightin.

LUBC

The Lancaster University Boat Club feel that it’s important to show solidarity. They said: “Like most sports societies, we tend to have a big night out every Wednesday. However, given the spiking epidemic currently occurring in nightclubs across the country, we felt it important to stand in solidarity with those victims of spiking and put pressure on nightclubs to take this seriously.

“This week, we decided to have small, squad-based crew meals instead, showing nightclubs that if they don’t take action, we can take our business elsewhere.”

Lancaster Roses Cheerleading

Instagram: @Lancasterroses

Lancaster cheerleading society stands in solidarity with the anti-spiking movement. On social media, it said: “In support of this, and for the safety of our members, we have decided to cancel this weeks social”.

LUWHC

Instagram: @LUWHC_

The Lancaster Uni Women’s Hockey society is also cancelling its Wednesday social to support the boycott. It told The Tab Lancaster: “As a club, we have decided to cancel our social on Wednesday in support of the nationwide boycott. Nightclubs should feel a safe environment for everyone, and at the minute, we don’t feel this is always the case, especially with the rise of spiking at the minute.

“We believe that nightclubs should find ways to solve these issues, and we hope our support in the boycott will encourage them to do so.”

Lancaster Netball Club

Instagram: @instalunc

The Lancaster Netball Club is going a step further and is fundraising for Women’s Aid. In its social media post, it said: “We have a JustGiving page set up for anyone who would like to donate to better the lives of those who are subject to domestic abuse, violence and injustice in the places where they should feel most safe.

“LUNC have two home games on Wednesday which are being shown on the new show court! 1sts are playing against Chester 1sts, which will be directly linked to the night in and fundraising event. Please come down and support both of our teams and help us raise money for such an important cause”.

Lancaster University Korfball

The Lancaster Korfball society is not hosting a social this week to support the boycott. In a social media post, it said: “We believe that nightclubs should be a safe and fun environment for everybody, and we therefore fully support the movement and will be staying home this week.

“We also understand that this is an issue that has affected a huge amount of people and so if you’re struggling, please reach out to the support available.”

LUDanS

The Lancaster University dance society said: “As a society with a high female majority, we are boycotting the clubs on Wednesday to show our agreement with the movement. Our main priority is that people stay and feel safe when they are on socials! This is one step towards ensuring changes to prevent spiking to keep our members safe on nights out.”

LU Swimming and Water Polo

Instagram: @luswp

Lancaster University’s Swimming and Water Polo society are supporting the boycott and have cancelled its Wednesday social. It said: “This is to address the spiking epidemic where we hope our support for the Club Boycott will bring attention to the increasing problem of spiking incidents and encourage more action within our nightclubs.”

LU Women’s Cricket Club

Instagram: @luwomenscricket

LUCC said they support the boycott as it believes “everyone should feel safe in our city”. It said: “We want clubs to take the recent spiking outbreak seriously and implement effective measures to keep everyone safe and supported.”

A spokesperson for Generation nightclub said: “Generation is a safe space dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community here in Lancaster and the northwest. We welcome everyone into our venue and are proud of our preexisting and new safeguards to protect all our customers and staff. We will be operating our bar area on Wednesday night. As we are the only dedicated safe space for the queer community here in Lancaster.”

A spokesperson for GLOW said: “Glow is very much aware and supportive of the “ Night In” campaign. We will be closing our venue tonight ( Wed 27th October 21 ) to stand in solidarity with the campaign and all other venues supporting it. We will be stepping up our training programmes making it compulsory for all our staff & management team to attend all training courses. Below are some bullet points on other procedures we will have in place.

  • Increased thorough searches upon entry, including pocket & bag searches
  • No Re-Entry unless you queue again and undergo another search
  • Zero tolerance to drugs on the premises
  • First aid trained staff on-site each night we trade
  • Any drinks left unattended will be removed no matter how full
  • Additional security/management surveillance, including undercover checks
  • Dedicated members of staff to act as safety/welfare officers to assist in all welfare cases, including reports of spiking
  • Some parties may be stopped when leaving to check that all members of the party are in full control, can respond to basic questions and can confirm they are part of / happy to leave with the group in question
We will also be putting up more signage to let our customers know what we are asking of them  –
  • Understand why searches are necessary
  • To never leave drinks unattended
  • To be mindful of who is around you
  • To watch out for people in your group, know where they are and who they’re with.
  • To not take drugs before or after entering the premises.”

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