you need to do something drastic to bring people back, at the moment the only busy-ish night a week you have is purple wednesdays, and thats only the teams. I don't like the replacement of the 1.50 drinks on friday with the ramp, it means I have to come in at before 8 to get a cheap drink, and i dont want my cheap drink then, I'd much rather have it in a couple of hours when the atmospheres warming up. I also believe that if you brought in a few bands, just one every couple of weeks, that'd cause a few more people to go. I've been to loughborough uni, they have a big name regularly. 
It's just a case of making people want to go back there, at the moment thats the only thing lacking.

Often when its busy the ques for the bar are huge. A small bottle bar or shots bar would be a good way to beat the ques. Also do you still have drinks in glass bottles, or have you switched to plastic now? I got a very nasty cut from stepping on broken glass from a VK bottle last time i was there a few months ago.  
Anything you can do to make it look less like a school disco and more like a club would be well recieved. Its generally to bright in there because of the white walls and feels like a school hall.

As one of the above comments says, the union is only busy on a wednesday, bring back bigger cheaper friday and saturday nights. In particular saturday nights i cant seem to find a cheap place to have a good night out. Bring in a £1 on selected drinks or maybe £1.50 and some good music and students will flock in! Other unions across the country have several nights a week! Make Lux more like a club as well, more lights and stages maybe? Also repeating the above, a good band every so often would also keep up interest in the union! Hope to see some suggestions taken into account, thanks!

Bring in new furniture downstairs, and replace the bars. After working there this year (Although it was quality) I feel the bars are well beyond their best and their design make it very difficult sometimes. CO2s bar is far too small for example meaning you cant really get past each other, while the Water whole bar is just falling appart on both sides.  
 
As to the desing, put layers in Lux, give it proper furniture,sofas, spearate areas for chilling out, FISH TANKS?!?!?! Bring in Bands for sure (Good ones tho not one hit wonders) make a vlaued attempt to make freshers amazing.My first years one was great, but last years looked pretty weak in comparrison.  
 
Also Waterwhole needs new furniture as the stools and tables are WRANK. Get rid of the smell of sick from the whole buildign too and After having to clean up flooded bogs soooooooo many times on a wednesday night I feel having toilets that dont get mullered all the time would be a good move. Perhaps a decent drainage system in there would be good.  
 
Make better us of the entrance international lounge. Why isnt this a proper chill out area with maybe tables, cured sofas, heck even maybe that shots bar mentioned above. 
 
Separate the bar and the dance floor from lux, remove the entry price for the club and keep up the advertising :-) Although I think you should be hitting halls of residence way before the likes of Tiger tiger etc do...

i dont think i have ever encountered anywhere that is as poorly run as the student union. Opening hours and food quality are dire, as is the administration. All i have ever seen is lies, repeated failures and repeated broken promises from everybody that works there. So called services offerd to the students are laughable as are all that pretend or attempt to run the place. Maybe the union needs someone who can actually do the job not people with the coordination and business sense of a wet fish.

The graduation ball being held in the Union really just isn't a winner. 
Don't get me wrong, the union for a heavy night out is a guarenteed belter but guys and girls paying megabucks on smart clothes and thnen a huge premium to go to the union to get stuck on the sticky floor and have snakebite/vomit thrown all down you is not a good look. 
The guildhall down the road is so much more appropriate- and it would bring our Uni back in line with the others. I'm sure for the sake of a ticket increase to cover the cost (i believe it was about an additional £10 to hold it at the guildhall) so many more people would be happier to go and enjoy a swanky evening. 
As it stands, i'm thinking our group of friends will go along to the architecture ball- they're got it right!

Definatly get rid of the sick smell. It put me off going to the graduation ball cause i didnt fancy getting dressed up to go to a place smelling of sick.

more live bands!!!

Oh dear! - The negative comments above are all the same, every year! 
 
Guys, look at it from the other perspective. 
 
New Drainage? - where is that money coming from? 
 
Less like a school hall with no white walls? - This, I believe is largely down to the University owning our Union via UPEL. Thus, they like to use the building for other uses as well! 
 
While I completely agree with getting more live acts, this comes down to finance again! - I would personally suggest the idea of getting cheap, possibly free, local bands, more inline with the School of Rock Accoustic nights, except the union pay for it not the SoR. This would not only showcase local and student talent, but would help bring people to the Union rather than to other live venues such as Little J Russels, and The Black Room (or whatever it's called). 
 
To mention quickly the persons comment above about the Grad Ball. While I understand your opinon about moving it back to Guildhall, I think that UPSU and UPEL did a sterling job with this years Grad Ball, and I think I would prefer the Union spend extra money on slightly more A grade entertainment acts, rather than a seperate venue.  
 
While thinking about more entertainment acts: (sorry i'll finish soon, I know I only have 2000 words!)... 
 
You don't have to have bands all the time, you don't have to have DJs all the time, why not have a Comedy night, where you get a locale comedian, or a special night for wierd acts. For example I was in a club in london, and saw an act called "Dave the amazing Reguritator", it was like a magic act, and highly amusing and amazing at the same time, he did this while close to 2000 people stood and watched in amazment while sipping on their drinks! 
 
All things to consider...?

Reading the above comments, they are all valid, cheap drink will always bring students in. £1 a pint night will work and with live music you cant go wrong.  
 
One thing that needs to change is the layout of the big school hall, what about making that a project for the first year design courses?? Then maybe see the improvments being made in the second part of the 2009?? Personally I would suggest moving the bar into the middle of the dance floor which would help break up that school hall effect.  
 
Getting the students and departments involved is the answer, because they will want to change it for the best.