WHAT IS THE DSU?
DSU is Durham Students' Union, your union. It is a democratic body through which all the colleges working together, speaking with a unified voice, represent you.
WHAT DOES THE DSU DO?
Most things fit into the following five categories:
Your College DSU Reps attend Council Meetings and vote on various issues and motions that effect the students' experience. Furthermore upto 300 positions are available each year for students to participate in the DSU from those working on the student's newspaper to the International Students Officer.
The DSU regularly runs campaigns on behalf of the student body which focus on issues that students are passionate about or those which could significantly affect their position ( A recent example is the vote to oppose the lecturers' strike).
The DSU's main event is now Planet of Sound hosted by Studio every Friday. All rooms at DSU have been made available for booking by clubs and societies to encourage student-led events at the DSU.
Aside from that, there is the Advice Centre, Purple Radio and the Palatinate.
The DSU offers various welfare provisions such as the Counselling Service, Drop-in sessions with the Education and Welfare Officer, welfare campaigns (e.g Alcohol Awareness, STD awareness. Gender Equality etc)
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It also trains all the Course Reps that are elected in Departments and offers a central hub for discussion of the University's Education Provisions.
The DSU caters for all the Societies' administrative and funding needs. It assists when they need to arrange venues, events and find sponsors.
WHAT DO YOUR REPRESENTATIVES DO?
The DSU Committee:
This committee constitutes of the Senior and four Junior Reps, who work together to ensure that all matters related to the DSU are efficiently communicated to Mary's JCR, sometimes by running campaigns in college on the more sensational topics. They attend Council Meetings where they vote on issues and motions, bearing in mind JCR policies and mandates. They are your main points of contact to query about getting involved in the DSU or any issues you might have with it. Furthermore the Senior DSU Rep attends Joint Committee Meetings every fortnight to hold into account the DSU Sabbatical Officers.
WHY SHOULD YOU GET MORE INVOLVED?
In a Collegiate System, people tend to forget the significance and power of the DSU to affect changes in the total student experience. The Student's Union in a university like Durham has the potential to bring together voices and concerns from all the Colleges and unite them under a single banner, however this requires motivation on the part of the students and their involvement in the DSU.
Involvement in the Student Union body is a valuable experience to gain, and should impress future employers!
Without the involvement of the students, there would be no democratic process and the DSU would crumble. There are hundreds of positions to be taken up each year, so getting involved in a very broad range of activities is really easy and rewarding.
HOW CAN YOU GET MORE INVOLVED?
There are 300 positions available each year, divided into the following categories:
Elected by the JCR to represent Mary's at DSU Council Meetings.
Every year four sabbatical officers are elected. The President, The Societies and Students Developement Officer, The Education and Welfare Officer and the Duck Manager come together to manage the day-to-day running of the DSU.
- Executive and Non-Executive Officer
There are many Officer positions in the DSU. These include The Campaigns Officer, Gender Equality Officer, Publicity Officer and Education Officer.
There are various committees which you can stand for, including the Finance Committee, The Trustee Board, The Board of Directors for the Palatinate etc.
Just like the Colleges are affiliated with the DSU, all Student Unions affiliate with the National Union of Students (NUS). We occasionally elect delegates to go to the Annual Conference, Regional Conference, Black Students' Conference etc.
- Randomly attend Council Meetings
See the Calendar to know when and where the next Council Meeting is. I normally wait in the WJCR half an hour or so before the start of the meeting, so you can come discuss the agenda items with me and tag along to one of the meetings. They really are fun!
