Sometimes it starts simple — two friends talking on The Hill.
In fall 1998, Warwick Sabin lm B.A.’98 (1997–1998) and his close friend Kevin Dedner B.A.’00 were newly elected presidents. Sabin led the Associated Student Government (ASG); Dedner led the Black Students Association.
They sat in the courtyard between the Arkansas Union and Mullins Library. It was the 40th anniversary of the Little Rock Nine’s integration at Central High School, and President Bill Clinton was set to speak.
The young leaders knew they wanted to be involved. They tapped their networks, and soon Greyhound donated buses to take University of Arkansas students to the event in Little Rock. On one of those buses was Freedom Rider Bernard Lafayette, who spoke about nonviolent civil disobedience during the ride.
Sabin still recalls the moment they arrived, greeted by both President Clinton and Gov. Mike Huckabee.
“It’s amazing how much meaning and memory could come from a friendship,” Sabin said. He is now president and CEO of Deep South Today, a nonprofit network of Southern newsrooms. “It was all student-initiated, student-driven,” Dedner added. “People don’t know how significant student leadership can be. You can look out into the world — and you can change it.”
*This post is condensed from a longer article by Christopher Spencer and Miceala Morano published in the summer 2025 issue of Arkansas Magazine. Spencer is the assistant director for marketing and strategic communications for University Housing, and Morano is a U of A student who works in Student Media.
