Spain needed to pick a date and place for this first gathering of students. With the help of a SAMA student rep at the University of Illinois Medical School in Chicago, and David Evaskus, a senior student at the U.of I. Dental School, they joined efforts to host the meeting on the weekend of Feb. 14-15 just prior to the Midwinter Meeting of the Chicago Dental Society. At the behest of his Dean, Dr. Seymour Yale, Evaskus recruited Warren Smith, a freshman dental student, to help with the housing and local transportation logistics. Dean Yale, who was a staunch supporter of student activism, gave them the keys to his office and meeting room – and that is the why and the where of the first meeting of SADA. About 30 students from approximately 26 dental schools participated, supported by meager travel stipends from their individual schools. A bunch of students crashed on the floor of Evaskus’ small apartment and a bunch crashed at Smith’s parents’ house. This was not a 5-star event. However, these informal, crowded accommodations had one fortuitous and un-anticipated benefit – drinking beer and sharing ‘war stories’ until the wee hours of the night. They each discovered that they were not alone in their grievances about dental school. Their stories were not unique. They were all suffering from the same syndrome, and this was an opportunity to do something about it.