The Durham Union Society (DUS), commonly referred to as the Durham Union, is a debatingsociety, founded in 1842, by the students at Durham University. It is the largest society associated with the university, with over 3,000 members in residence, and 24,000 worldwide. Members of the union have reciprocal rights at sister societies, including the Oxford Union and the Cambridge Union.
The union was founded in 1842[3] as the Durham University Union along the same lines as the Cambridge Union (founded 1815) and the Oxford Union (founded 1823). An earlier Durham University Debating Society had existed from 1835–1839, with financial support from the university.[4][5] These societies were not just for debating but were also clubs, and thus maintained facilities such as reading and dining rooms in addition to holding debates. After the establishment of the Durham Union, no further student debating societies were established upon these lines.[6] Durham also followed Oxford in adopting parlimentary procedures in its debates from the initial foundation in 1835, which Cambridge also adopted in 1842 and which became standard in debating societies later in the 19th century. Few records remain from the mid 19th century, but the Oxford Union's records show that the Durham Union was operating in 1856.[5] Records improve from 1872, when it was noted in the minute book that the society had been "revived", with it adopting the current name of Durham Union Society the following year, but no records from meetings prior to 1885 have survived. In 1873, Durham participated in the jubilee celebrations for the Oxford Union Society.[4][5][7]
The society moved to a site adjacent to the university library on Palace Green in 1872.[3] However, lacking the independent funds of the Oxford and Cambridge unions or the central funding of the debating societies at the redbrick universities, it was unable to maintain its buildings, which decayed to such a state by 1896 that it was no longer possible to hold debates.[8] By this time, students' unions had begun to be established in redbrick universities such as Liverpool, and Durham University extended an offer to the union society to convert it into a students' union that would receive funding from the university. However, the union members rejected this offer and decided to remain independent, leading to the foundation of the separate Student Representative Council and continued poverty for the union society.[6]
In the late the nineteenth century debates, like the curriculum, often revolved around ecclesiastical matters. At the time, the influence of the dean and chapter governing Durham Cathedral was significant, and the student intake at the university included large numbers of young men preparing for holy orders. The few political debates tending to concern the then-contentious issue of Irish Home Rule.[6] Some debates were tongue-in-cheek, such as an 1887 motion 'That in the opinion of this House the Fair Sex is the root of all evil' – a proposal eventually defeated by a large majority.[8] The first 'Ladies night', where female students were able to participate, was held in 1895. In 1900, as the Boer War raged, members sent a telegram congratulating Messrs. Tuckey and Macpherson[lower-alpha 1] – both former Durham Union men who had been trapped in the city of Ladysmith as it came under siege from Boer forces – on finally being relieved, and soon received a reply from the pair of them.[11]
Political debates became more frequent in the early twentieth century. Society members almost invariably sided with the positions of the Conservative Party. A debate in 1901 saw Lord Salisbury's third administration receive a vote of confidence of more than 90 per cent. In 1905, 1907, and again in 1911, the policies of the Liberal Party were rejected by majorities of more than 70 per cent. Opinions on immigration were not consistent, with students in 1903 "widely applauding" anti-immigration views in one term and rejecting similar motions by a majority of five to one in the following term.[6][12][13]
Participants in the 1912 Anniversary Inter-University Debate
To mark the 70th anniversary of the Durham Union, an inter-varsity debate chaired by then President J. E. T. Philipps, was held on Saturday 16 March 1912 at the Great Hall of University College, and featured visiting teams from Oxford, Cambridge, Trinity College, Dublin, and Edinburgh University – with the burning issue of Irish Home Rule as the subject of discussion.[14] This was something of a reunion for three of the participants: Philipps, F. K. Griffith (President of the Oxford Union), and H. Grose–Hodge (from the Cambridge Union) were all schoolmates in the same form at Marlborough College.[15] The union also backed campaigns for women's sufferage and a Women's Union was started at 44 North Bailey in 1914. This would continue as a separate entity, with the two unions segregated by sex, for almost half a century before a decision to merge was made 1959, with the Durham Union being fully integrated by 1964.[3]
A Junior Union Society (now Newcastle University Students' Union) was established in Newcastle in 1881, and from 1914 to 1925 the Newcastle Union Society and the Durham Union Society operated as a single body, with the president being chosen alternately from the Durham and Newcastle divisions of the university. This ended after the construction of a new union building in Newcastle.[4][7]
By the university's centenary in 1932, the union has reciprocal relationships with Oxford, Cambridge, Dublin, Edinburgh and Manchester.[7] In 1936, the union moved into facilities provided by the university and, in 1977, moved to the Pemberton Building on the opposite side of Palace Green, where it remains. This was controversial as the union became dependent, unlike the Oxford and Cambridge unions, on the university for its facilities. Bertie Dockerill, an academic who has written on the history of student debating societies, emphasises that continued use of university-owned facilities:[6][16]
has remained dependent upon the University believing that they were necessary, a system of landlordism that has not served the DUS well. The Union has been forcibly removed from its original home upon the library side of Palace Green that it had been gifted by the Warden of the University in 1873 (it now houses a lavatory complex), had its artwork appropriated, its coffee shop and dining room confiscated, and enjoys neither a library nor sole usage of its debating chamber, the latter commandeered daily by the University for lectures
To get around the limitations of its premises, the society traded its ownership of 44 North Bailey opposite Hatfield College for the old site of St Aidan's Society at 24 North Bailey in 1964, following the integration of the Women's Union.[3] This allowed the union to return to its original establishment as both a debating society and a club, with the creation of the 'North Bailey Club' (informally known as '24' from the address). This contains a bar which is open to all Durham Union members; a snooker room; a reading room that the Durham Union uses for functions, such as post debate entertaining, and an en-suite guest room that can be hired out by members. Student members also have the opportunity to rent bedrooms as student accommodation.[17]
In 2010, the union was forced to cancel a debate on multiculturalism on safety grounds, after the National Union of Students' Black Students Officer Bell Ribeiro-Addy and LGBT Officer Daf Adley sent a letter to the union, Durham University and Durham Students Union. The letter opposed the invitation of then BNPMEPAndrew Brons, and warned of a “colossal demonstration” if the debate went ahead. It went on to say “If any students are hurt in and around this event, responsibility will lie with you.”[18] The cancellation of the debate by Union President Anna Birley on safety grounds was met with fierce backlash. NUS President Wes Streeting was prompted to personally appear before the Durham Union to apologise for the actions of the officers concerned, and a significant number of Durham students protested outside the debating chamber.[19] An anti-censorship protest group on Facebook quickly amassed over 2,500 members.[20] An official petition was lodged with Durham Students' Union to call for a referendum on disaffiliation from NUS.[21] On 12 March 2010, the referendum concluded with a majority of voting students choosing to disaffiliate. In 2011 the Durham Students' Union held a further referendum, whereby students taking part in the referendum voted to reaffiliate with the NUS.[22]
In 2015, the Union cancelled a speech from Tommy Robinson, reportedly after pressure from the University.[23]
In 2017, the Chinese Embassy in London attempted to block supermodel and activist Anastasia Lin from speaking in a debate. An official at the embassy warned the union that the debate, which also featured former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, could damage relations between the UK and China.[24][25] Union president Tom Harwood insisted that "Everyone has been very polite", and the debate went ahead as planned.[26] This was cited internationally as an example of attempts by the Chinese government to censor debate in the West.[27][28]
After winning a Durham Union debate in 2017, Spectator columnist James Delingpole wrote that "For a real Oxbridge education, you now have to go to Durham", claiming that Oxford and Cambridge had become "a sterile, conformist, PC monoculture of earnest state-indoctrinated Stakhanovites".[29] In contrast, Toby Young branded the union "a gang of left-wing thugs" after taking part in a debate in 2019.[30]
In a December 2020 members' referendum, Durham Union Debating, the student competitive debate wing of the Durham Union, voted to leave the Durham Union Society, and affiliate with the Durham Students' Union as the independent Durham Debating Society. In June 2022, the Durham Debating Society voted to reverse this decision and re-affiliate with the Durham Union Society, leaving the Durham Students' Union.[31]
The Union Society's offices on Palace Green are shown in the centre of the image. To the right is the Department of Theology and Durham Cathedral
The Durham Union still maintains its offices and debating chamber on Palace Green within the Durham Castle and Cathedral World Heritage Site, as well as 24 North Bailey. It hosts weekly debates featuring prominent external speakers, as well as inviting address speakers and holding social events.
The social highlight of the year is the annual ball held in Michaelmas term. The programme for the evening varies, but usually consists of a champagne reception, dinner, music, and after dinner dancing. The union also holds members only socials, with recent events including a 'Halloween Social', 'American Election Social', 'Chinese New Year Social' and 'Valentines Social'.[32]
The Durham Union is legally, a registered charity in England and Wales.[34] According to its constitution, the ownership of the society is vested in its trustees, who have ultimate authority over the society, subject to the deed of trust.
Although membership of the Durham Union is almost exclusive to students from Durham University, the Durham Union exists independently from the university and the Durham Students' Union.
Competitive debating
The union also excelled at competitive debating. Having won the European Universities Debating Championship in 2005, and more recently having teams reaching the final of the European Championship, Oxford IV, Cambridge IV and John Smith Memorial Mace and the quarter-final of the World Universities Debating Championship. It also hosted the Durham Intervarsity competition, the Durham Open and Durham Schools; the world's largest residential school's debating competition.
The National Union of Students (NUS) is a confederation of student unions in the United Kingdom. Around 600 student unions are affiliated, accounting for more than 95% of all higher and further education unions in the UK. Although the National Union of Students is the central organisation for all affiliated unions in the UK, there are also the devolved national sub-bodies NUS Scotland in Scotland, NUS Wales in Wales and NUS-USI in Northern Ireland.
Durham Students' Union, operating as Durham SU, is the students' union of Durham University in Durham, England. It is an organisation, originally 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.
The Oxford University Student Union is the official students' union of the University of Oxford. It is better known in Oxford under the branding Oxford SU or by its previous name of OUSU. It exists to represent Oxford University students in the university's decision-making, to act as the voice for students in the national higher education policy debate, and to provide direct services to the student body. The president for the 2023–24 academic year is Danial Hussain.
The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. The society was founded in 1815 and is the oldest continuously running debating society in the world. Additionally, the Cambridge Union has served as a model for the foundation of similar societies at several other prominent universities, including the Oxford Union and the Yale Political Union. The Union is a private society with membership open to all students of Cambridge University and Anglia Ruskin University. The Cambridge Union is a registered charity and is completely separate from the Cambridge University Students' Union.
Cambridge Students' Union, known as Cambridge SU, is the university-wide representative body for students at the University of Cambridge, England. Its predecessor union was known as Cambridge University Students' Union or CUSU until its dissolution in July 2020.
Hatfield College is one of the constituent colleges of Durham University in England. It occupies a city centre site above the River Wear on the World Heritage Site peninsula, lying adjacent to North Bailey and only a short distance from Durham Cathedral. Taking its name from a medieval Prince-Bishop of Durham, the college was founded in 1846 as Bishop Hatfield's Hall by David Melville, a former Oxford don.
St Aidan's College is a college of the University of Durham in England. It had its origins in 1895 as the association of women home students, formalised in 1947 as St Aidan's Society. In 1961, it became a full college of the university, and in 1964 moved to new modernist buildings on Elvet Hill designed by Sir Basil Spence.
Palatinate is the student newspaper of Durham University. One of Britain's oldest student publications, Palatinate is frequently ranked as one of the leading student outlets in the UK and Ireland, winning Best Publication in the Student Publication Association's 2018 and 2021 national awards. In the same year Palatinate was Highly Commended in the Best Publication category of the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme's Student Journalism Awards. Several of its editors have gone on to gain national recognition in journalism.
A common room is a group into which students are organised in some universities, particularly in the United Kingdom, normally in a subdivision of the university such as a college or hall of residence, in addition to an institution-wide students' union. They represent their members within the hall or college, operate certain services within these institutions such as laundry or recreation, and provide opportunities for socialising. There are variations based on institutional tradition and needs, but classically the following common rooms will exist:
No Platform, in the UK, is a form of student boycott where a person or organisation is denied a platform to speak. The British National Union of Students (NUS) established its No Platform policy in April 1974. Like other No Platform policies, it asserts that no proscribed person or organisation should be given a platform to speak, nor should a union officer share a platform with them. The policy traditionally applies to entities that the NUS considers racist or fascist, most notably the British National Party, although the NUS and its liberation campaigns have policies refusing platforms to other people or organisations. The policy does not extend to students' unions who are part of NUS, although similar policies have also been adopted by its constituent unions.
In universities in the United Kingdom students' unions are constituted under Section 2 of the Education Act 1994. The ultimate purpose of students' unions is to democratically represent the interests of their members. Students who resign their membership may still use union social facilities provided since they are for the benefit of the students of the institution, not just union members. The vast majority of UK students' unions are affiliated with the National Union of Students (NUS).
The Colleges of Durham University are residential colleges that are the primary source of accommodation and support services for undergraduates and postgraduates at Durham University, as well as providing a focus for social, cultural and sporting life for their members, and offering bursaries and scholarships to students. They also provide funding and/or accommodation for some of the research posts in the University. All students at the University are required to be members of one of the colleges.
The history of Durham University spans over 190 years since it was founded by Act of Parliament. King William IV granted royal assent to the Act on 4 July 1832, and granted the university a royal charter on 1 June 1837, incorporating it and confirming its constitution. The university awarded its first degrees on 8 June 1837. It describes itself as the third-oldest university in England and is listed by the European University Association as one of Europe's oldest hundred universities in continuous operation.
Durham University is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to open in England for more than 600 years, after Oxford and Cambridge, and is thus the third-oldest university in England. As a collegiate university, its main functions are divided between the academic departments of the university and its 17 colleges. In general, the departments perform research and provide teaching to students, while the colleges are responsible for their domestic arrangements and welfare.
Nottingham University Conservative Association (NUCA) is a student Conservative association, whose members are drawn from the University of Nottingham. NUCA is affiliated to the University of Nottingham Students' Union, in addition to the Nottingham Conservative Federation and East Midlands Area Council. The Honorary President is Rt. Hon. John Hayes MP PC FRSA. Past Honorary Presidents include Jonathan Guinness, Lord Carr of Hadley, R. A. Butler and His Grace the Duke of Rutland.
Malia Mazia Bouattia is the former president of the National Union of Students (NUS) of the United Kingdom, elected at the National Conference in April 2016. She was the first female Black British and Muslim leader of the NUS. She attended the University of Birmingham. In March 2017, she was defeated in her attempt to run for a second term in office by NUS Vice-president Shakira Martin.
Newcastle University Students' Union (NUSU) is the students' union of Newcastle University in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is an organisation with the intention of representing and providing services and welfare for the students of University of Newcastle upon Tyne. It was originally set up as the Union Society and changed to its present name in 2011. In 2022, it voted to rejoin the National Union of Students (NUS).
The Durham University Conservative and Unionist Association, formerly the Durham University Conservative Association, is a conservative student society at Durham University. It was founded in 1935. It is affiliated with the Durham Students' Union.
1 2 3 4 5 Dockerill, Bertie (2017). "'Forgotten Voices': The Debating Societies of Durham and Liverpool, 1900–1939". In Burkett, Jodi (ed.). Students in Twentieth Century Britain and Ireland. Palgrave. pp.101–128. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
1 2 3 C. E. Whiting (1932). The University of Durham 1832–1932. Sheldon Press. pp.312–313.
1 2 Fowler, J. T. (5 June 1912). "The Durham Union Society". Durham University Journal. 20 (10): 205. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
↑ "Unattached Members". Durham University Calendar: 227. 1897. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
↑ Graduates of the University. Durham: Durham University. 1948. p.230.
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