OV Theo for President

Many congratulations to OV Theo Osborn (Cl 13-20) who has been elected President of the Durham Union Society (DUS) for Michaelmas 2023. The election, which was held in February, saw Theo storm to success with 72% of the vote over his rival.

Theo has been an active member of the Union since joining Durham University’s Grey College in October 2021 to study Computer Science. In that time, he’s been Deputy Tech Officer, Tech Officer and Speaker’s Secretary before becoming President-Elect.

Theo explains, “I officially became President at the end of June, and since then have been hard at work planning my term, which is set to include the former CEO of NatWest, Dame Alison Rose, the former national security adviser to the White House, Fiona Hill, and former Deputy PM Sir David Lidington.

“I’m particularly grateful to King’s, as without my experiences of debate at School, I have no doubt I would not have been able to become President. Learning debate and public speaking in Model United Nations under Mrs Shearburn (Hon OV), competing in national MUN conferences, and taking part in the school general election campaign in 2019 gave me the confidence to run for election. Furthermore, my experience at King’s is why I’m so passionate about promoting debate on campus and to local schools through the DUS now.”

The DUS is Durham University’s oldest and largest student society, whose debating chamber overlooks Durham Cathedral, the heart of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As with its sister Unions at Oxford and Cambridge, it has hosted prominent national and international speakers for over 180 years, including former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, David Miliband, Jeremy Vine, Imelda Staunton, and Noam Chomsky, to discuss their experiences and debate the most pressing issues of the day.