Student government at Dalhousie likely began in 1863, at the time of Dalhousie’s reorganization.

The first recorded minutes of a meeting of students at Dalhousie are available from 1870. At that time there were ninety-nine students enrolled at the university.  The assembly was called the Student’s Meeting and the Executive only kept order at the meetings. Committees carried out specific duties (e.g. financial control, Munro Day celebration, annual dinners and operation of the Reading Room).

On November 10, 1869 students accepted ownership of the Gazette from the founding editors.

In 1870 the Dalhousie Medical Students’ Society was formed.

A Students’ Meeting was held April 26, 1876 to discuss ways that the circulation of the Gazette could be enlarged. A subscription to the Gazette cost fifty cents, or five cents a copy. This is the first known exercise of the students’ rights as owners of the paper, other than the election of Editors.

A student meeting on November 1, 1876 appointed two members to a Financial Committee. The committee did an annual audit of the Gazette and performed a few other financial jobs for the Students’ Meeting. There were no fees for student activities so a Treasurer was not needed. The newspaper was the only activity that required funding, and it relied solely on subscriptions.

January 10, 1879 SODALES was formed.

Women were admitted to Dalhousie in September of 1881. The Gazette, which had called for their admission, gained a female editor immediately.

In 1881 the possibility of a Gymnasium for Dalhousie was discussed. A motion approving the Gym and expressing the willingness to pay $1.00 per student was passed. This would be a compulsory levy. It was the first consideration of a levy on students as opposed to collecting funds on a volunteer basis.

In 1893 the elections were held in late February (as opposed to November). This was the first time they were held in that month which is now conventional.

At the turn of the century the General Students’ Meeting was renamed the University Students’ Council.

In 1905-06 a committee was struck to look at the expenses of the Students’ Council for the upcoming year. On October 9 it reported to the Council and on adoption of the report a 35-cent levy was passed for all male students.

In November 1905 the Engineering Students’ Society was formed.

In a June 27, 1910 editorial the Gazette listed four priorities for new buildings at an expanding Dalhousie: a library, a science building, gymnasium and a students’ building. This was the first proposal for what would be the Students’ Union Building some 57 years later. The editorial called for a student controlled two-story building with offices on the first floor and an assembly hall above.

In 1912 a referendum was held to approve the collection of a $5.00 fee by Senate. The money would finance all student activities.

In 1913 the Constitution of the University Students’ Council was developed. There was a representative for every 25 male students, and the new Council had control of all student affairs and organizations. The members chose a president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary and two others from the Council. The faculties of Arts and Science had eight reps, Medicine three, Law two and Dentistry one.

By 1915 the Campaign for a Students’ Building had gathered almost $20,000. Before the outbreak of the War the federal government had agreed to pay a large portion of the cost of the building on the condition that a military training unit be formed and allowed use of the building. Plans to finish the campaign in the fall were stopped by the War, but students were urged not to forget the cause.
 
A December 11 meeting of the USC decided to sponsor a reception for the students and staff who were leaving for the war front.

The USC was given the use of a farmhouse on the Studley campus to use as a student building until they were able to build a permanent building.  The money already collected for the student’s building was invested in War Bonds. The Gazette was being mailed to all of those overseas in the trenches.

In 1916-17 women took part in the University Students’ Council for the first time.

In 1922 Dalhousie took part in a Christmas break conference in Toronto which would stem the beginnings of the first national student organization.

The first student protests took place in 1924-25 as a revolt against a rule requiring 100% attendance in Arts and Science classes. The leader of the student protest was a student named Billy Jones. He later became a friend of Winston Churchill during the Second World War and fought in Yugoslavia where he was one of the country’s leaders in the revolt against the Nazis.

In 1926 the first national conference of student leaders was held at McGill.

In September of 1927 the first Orientation Week was held at Dalhousie. Students attended a series of lectures, entertainment, athletic events and tours of the campuses. The university yearbook was also first published that year.

In 1927 Council opened its meetings to the public. Previously all meetings had been in camera.

In 1928 the Students’ Council employed a property man for the Glee Club. It would be the beginning of student employment by student government at Dalhousie.

January 12, 1936 the first radio program by students at Dalhousie was broadcast. It opened with a college medley followed by a brief introduction, emphasizing the trend of student thinking and how weekly programs were designed to represent their different interests. A student octet then sang several old time melodies.

Topics covered at the November 3, 1940 Council Meeting: an effort to be made to cover the costs of the Yearbook; Council reps on University Bookstore committee elected; the possibility of a rugger match between Dalhousie and Acadia, tea and a dance to be held after the game.

In 1941 the Dalhousie Council of Students undertakes a campus wide campaign to raise funds for the Red Cross and the International Students’ Service.

January 1943, university leaders draft a wartime student program rationing liberal arts education.

In November 1947 the Students Council announces that $25,000 will be spent to repair the fence surrounding the football field.

June 1951, Students’ Council unanimously expresses approval of a new health plan that would cover services of family doctors. A large number of students turn out to discuss the condition and operations of Dalhousie Memorial Rink.

March 4, 1952 nearly 70% of student body voted in the Student Council elections.

October 28, 1959 the Students’ Union announces that this is the year for action with regard to the construction of a SUB on campus. Members talk of two possibilities, either going ahead with concrete arrangements or alternatively completely scrapping the idea. SUBcom was formed at the following council meeting. The committee was to complete plans and drawings for the SUB, detail financial arrangements and a proposal for going to the student body to obtain approval.

A referendum was held February 18-19, 1960 regarding the question of a SUB being built on campus. 90.2% of voters backed the idea.83.2% of students turned out to vote.

October 6, 1960 two Dalhousie students, Peter Green and Brian Flemming are elected to the executive of the National Federation of Canadian University Students.

March 21, 1962 student tuition fees are up 10% in the Maritimes. Dalhousie students present a brief to the Federal Government on federal aid to Nova Scotia’s universities.

November 1-2, 1963 a Student ‘Blitz’ is held in Halifax. About 500 student canvassers contact 2500 small business and professional individuals to raise money for the SUB. Classes were cancelled for participants. The campaign raised $5000.

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. In the early sixties however, an annual levy of $10.00 was charged to all students of the university. The late sixties saw the fee increased to $20.00. Therefore the SUB was paid for by many students over the years, some of who may have never used or even seen the building.

July 1970 Dalhousie Student Legal Aid opens in Halifax Neighborhood Centre’s Gottingen Street Office. Five students initially staffed it, all in their second or third years at Dalhousie’s Law School.

The Students' Union of Nova Scotia was formed at Acadia University in the fall of 1978.
SUNS opens an office in the Dalhousie Student Union Building in 1980.

The DSU first publishes the “Dispatch”, a newsletter of the student union. The paper remains in publication until 1989.

The Canadian Federation of Students is formed in October of 1981.

The SUB loan was retired in 1982.

Dalhousie students raise $4,000 during Shinerama in 1982.

The CRTC approves CKDU’s application for a FM broadcasting license in October 1984. The station’s first moment of FM radio broadcast was Friday, February 1st, 1985 at 3:30 p.m.

The DSU Student Advocacy Service officially opened in January of 1985. Seven students were hired (5 advocates, 2 alternates). Also in January, students march to Province House to protest a faculty walkout at Dalhousie. Students claim that government under funding is the cause of the strike.

CKDU kicks off its first annual funding drive in 1985.

As part of its 20th anniversary year, the SUB witnessed the relocation and refurbishing of the Grawood in 1988. The new bar opened Friday September 18th. The Grawood is named after John Graham, a former General Manager of the SUB and Clem Norwood.

In 1992 the Nova Scotia Council on Higher Education begins to discuss the rationalization and amalgamation of universities and programs in Nova Scotia. The DSU responds on several occasions over the next five years, keeping the interests of students on the forefront.

Dalhousie withdraws from CFS in 1994.

The founding meeting of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations is held in September of 1994. Dalhousie Student Union President Rod McLeod plays an important part in the initial formation of CASA.

The Dalhousie Student Union pulls out of SUNS in April of 1996 following a referendum.

Following the TUNS / Dalhousie amalgamation, the Daltech Student Union and the DSU combine efforts in 1997-98. The Daltech Student Board is formed. The Board is restructured into an advisory committee in October 2000.

Dalhousie Faculty strike: March 25, 1998. The DSU calls for a quick resolution to negotiations. The DSU launches a black and gold ribbon campaign and postcard campaign to draw attention to student interests.

During the summer of 1998 the Nova Scotia Student Advocacy Coalition was formed to replace SUNS as the provincial student advocacy group. The Coalition was formed by eight of the province's eleven universities. The DSU was one of the founding members.

The first edition of the Gazette for the 1999 academic year is distributed around campus on September 9th. This edition marks the paper’s 130th year in publication.

During the Dalhousie Faculty strike of 2002, the DSU remains a neutral body, encouraging cooperation at both ends. In the best interest of students, the DSU asks that a quick solution to the disruption come as soon as possible.

In May 2003, The Dalhousie Student Union hosts the Canadian Congress of Student Organizations (CCSA), the largest conference of its kind for post-secondary student leaders in Canada.

When the Nova Scotia Student Advocacy Coalition dissolves during the summer of 2003, the Dalhousie Student Union plays a vital role in the formation of a new coalition with The Acadian Students’ Union, Saint Mary’s University Students’ Association, and The Saint Francis Xavier Student Union.

For information about the history of the Dalhousie Student Union building, go the Dalhousie University's link here.

DSU Executives 1890 - current