Dalhousie Student Union
Encyclopedia
The Dalhousie Student Union is the official representative of students at Dalhousie University
in Halifax, Nova Scotia
.
A referendum
was held February 18-19, 1960, regarding the question of a Student Union Building being built on campus. 90.2% of voters backed the idea. 83.2% of students turned out to vote.
On November 8, 1968, the Student Union Building was opened. The cost of the building eventually was $3,700,000. The construction of the building was made possible in part by the province of Nova Scotia, which granted a loan of $2,766,600 to the Student Union. The SUB loan was retired in 1982.
The CRTC approved student-operated campus radio
station CKDU
’s application for an FM broadcasting
license in October 1984. The station’s first broadcast was Friday, February 1, 1985, at 3:30 p.m.
The Dalhousie Student Union was a founding member of the Canadian Federation of Students
in 1981, but withdrew its membership in 1994. In that same year it became a founding member of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations
.
In 2003 the DSU helped found the Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations
, Nova Scotia's provincial student advocacy group.
s, or appointed by certain student societies. The council only meets every two weeks during the school year, and monthly during the summer. Council has the ability to approve budgets and expenditures on behalf of the student body.
Day to day operations of the DSU are managed by the Executive, which is deeded by the DSU President. The executive have the ability to execute their functions and spend their budgets as approved by Council, but any new programs or substantial changes must first be approved by Council.
The DSU also represents students on the Dalhousie Board of Governors and Senate, and to external organizations. The DSU is granted 6 seats on the Senate and 3 on the Board of Governors. Traditionally, one member of the executive will fill one of these seats and the remainder are filled by students chosen during an election. Students sitting on the Board of Governors or Senate also hold a seat on the DSU Council.
DSU elections are held annually, usually in the first week of March. They are preceded by a week of campaigning by the candidates. In the 2007 general election, the voter turnout rate was 21%.
The union also employs full-time staff to manage the Student Union Building, the Grawood campus bar, research, communications and reservations for building facilities. Full-time staff are managed by the student union executive.
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...
in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
.
History
On November 10, 1869 students accepted ownership of the Dalhousie Gazette from the founding editors.A referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
was held February 18-19, 1960, regarding the question of a Student Union Building being built on campus. 90.2% of voters backed the idea. 83.2% of students turned out to vote.
On November 8, 1968, the Student Union Building was opened. The cost of the building eventually was $3,700,000. The construction of the building was made possible in part by the province of Nova Scotia, which granted a loan of $2,766,600 to the Student Union. The SUB loan was retired in 1982.
The CRTC approved student-operated campus radio
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
station CKDU
CKDU-FM
CKDU-FM is a radio station broadcasting in a campus radio format from the campus of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Licensed to broadcast to the Halifax Regional Municipality area, it broadcasts via a 3200 watt transmitter heard primarily to the urban core of Halifax...
’s application for an FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
license in October 1984. The station’s first broadcast was Friday, February 1, 1985, at 3:30 p.m.
The Dalhousie Student Union was a founding member of the Canadian Federation of Students
Canadian Federation of Students
The Canadian Federation of Students is the largest student organization in Canada. Founded in 1981, the stated goal of the CFS is to work at the federal level for high quality, accessible post-secondary education.-Structure:...
in 1981, but withdrew its membership in 1994. In that same year it became a founding member of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations
Canadian Alliance of Student Associations
The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations was formed in 1995 by several post-secondary institutions' student unions who had withdrawn from the Canadian Federation of Students and previously unaffiliated student unions...
.
In 2003 the DSU helped found the Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations
Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations
The Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations is the largest post-secondary student lobby group in Nova Scotia, Canada, representing approximately 85% of the province's university students...
, Nova Scotia's provincial student advocacy group.
Structure
The DSU is run by a council consisting of members elected by either the student body directly in open electionElection
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
s, or appointed by certain student societies. The council only meets every two weeks during the school year, and monthly during the summer. Council has the ability to approve budgets and expenditures on behalf of the student body.
Day to day operations of the DSU are managed by the Executive, which is deeded by the DSU President. The executive have the ability to execute their functions and spend their budgets as approved by Council, but any new programs or substantial changes must first be approved by Council.
The DSU also represents students on the Dalhousie Board of Governors and Senate, and to external organizations. The DSU is granted 6 seats on the Senate and 3 on the Board of Governors. Traditionally, one member of the executive will fill one of these seats and the remainder are filled by students chosen during an election. Students sitting on the Board of Governors or Senate also hold a seat on the DSU Council.
DSU elections are held annually, usually in the first week of March. They are preceded by a week of campaigning by the candidates. In the 2007 general election, the voter turnout rate was 21%.
The union also employs full-time staff to manage the Student Union Building, the Grawood campus bar, research, communications and reservations for building facilities. Full-time staff are managed by the student union executive.