Durham Students' Union
The Durham Students' Union is a body, set up as the Durham Colleges Students’ Representative Council in 1899 and renamed in 1969, with the intention of representing and providing welfare and services for the students of the University of Durham in Durham, England. The union is almost universally known by the initialism DSU.
DSU is designed to be truly democratic - to this end every student has a vote in the principal elections and in the sovereign body of DSU - the Union General Meeting - as in all students' unions. DSU holds two major elections a year, and has pioneered the use of electronic voting to increase participation. In the 2003 and 2004 Sabbatical elections it received the highest turnout of any student union in the UK, a fact used by some to show the continued relevance of DSU to the students of Durham.
The union is responsible for student welfare. To that end, it employs full-time trained counsellors, runs the DSU Nightbus that ensures students can get home safely (regardless of their immediate financial state) and organises representation groups for minorities suffering from discrimination.
DSU also runs a number of commercial ventures, including a shop, a cafe, a bar and a night-club. These operations are intended to make a profit which can be used to subsidise welfare support, student societies and other student services by DSU. Although DSU is also given a grant by the university, it is much lower than that received by most students unions in the U.K..
Unlike many Students' Unions, DSU does not have "RAG" week, but instead, DUCK - Durham University Charities' Kommittee - organises charitable events and activities throughout the year. It is rumoured that "RAG" was forced to disband after one week when several students broke into the nearby HMP Durham, and left a box of Cadbury's Milk Tray. DUCK rose, phœnix-like, from the ashes of Durham "RAG".
DSU occupies and manages Dunelm House, a university-owned building in the centre of Durham where a wide variety of student activities take place. The imposing, angular concrete building was completed in 1963 under the supervision of architect Sir Ove Arup, whose Kingsgate Bridge, adjacent, opened two years later. Both bridge and building have won Civic Trust awards, though the architecture of Dunelm House is not generally liked in the city.
During the late 1960s and the 1970s Dunelm House was a popular music venue, hosting bands including Pink Floyd and Procol Harum. According to their drummer Simon Kirke, Free's most popular song All Right Now was written by bassist Andy Fraser in their dressing room in Dunelm House, after a set of slower material had failed to excite the audience.
Current DSU Sabbatical Officers
| Position | Present Holder (2005-2006) |
| President | Nick Pickles |
| Treasurer | Tristan Osborne |
| Education and Welfare Officer | Richard Freeborn |
| DUCK Director | Ed Uff |
DSU and the colleges
The University of Durham is a collegiate university and therefore the role of the central students' union is different than in other universities. Durham's colleges are governed by their own version of the students' union, the Junior Common Room, which are responsible for the provision of most services and events within their college. As a result, participation within the DSU is affected as the majority of people in many colleges choose to get involved with their JCR, where they can see a more immediate impact from their work.
DSU's future
The announcement in early 2005 that DSU is more than £305,000 in debt has prompted serious debate on the future of the organisation and the building in which it is currently based. One suggestion for the future of DSU is for a more streamlined body which does not duplicate services that are already provided at college level, such as welfare, and instead focuses on providing larger services that the colleges cannot offer.
DSU Societies
DSU is notable for the high number of ratified societies it supports. There are usually between 120 and 150 DSU-ratified societies at any time. Current societies include Durham University AstroSoc and Durham University Concert Band.