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

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, later named Students Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia's provincial student advocacy group. On February 27, 2015, the DSU council voted on and subsequently passed a motion to remove its membership from Students Nova Scotia.

The DSU is run by a Council consisting of members elected by either the student body directly in open elections, or appointed by certain student societies. The Council meets every two weeks during the school year, and monthly during the summer. The 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 led by the DSU President. The Executive has the ability to execute its functions and spend its budget 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 eleven seats on the Senate and three on the Board of Governors. Two of the eleven seats on Senate are occupied ex-officio by the DSU President and DSU VP Academic & External. The remaining seats are filled by appointment by other student societies or the DSU. The DSU President is also a member of the Board of Governors and the remaining student seats are filled by student representatives chosen during an election. Students sitting on the Board of Governors also hold seats on the DSU Council.

The DSU general election is held annually during the Winter term and concludes by the end of March. Any vacancies are subject to a by-election held annually in October. All elections are preceded by a campaigning period as per the DSU bylaws.

The union also employs full-time staff to manage the Student Union Building, the Grawood and T-Room campus bars, research, communications and reservations for building facilities. All full-time staff are managed by the student union executive.

• Official website
• Tiger Society Website