David "Chi" Lyon, of Fort Smith, Sebastian County, Arkansas, was a student activist at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in the free speech and Civil Rights movements from 1964 until his graduation in 1966 with a BA in Sociology. During his time as a student, Lyon held the position of treasurer in the Arkansas Committee of Concern in the 1964-1965 school year and was president of the University of Arkansas Chapter of the Council on Human Relations in the 1965-1966 school year. The Arkansas Committee of Concern was linked to the Methodist Campus Ministry. One of its activities included a 1965 spring break trip to assist in African-American church rebuilding in Mississippi. The University of Arkansas Chapter Council on Human Relations' primary achievement was the integration of student dormitory rooms. In addition, David Lyon was a member of the Foreign Relations Club. In late 1964, the Foreign Relations Club invited Peter Vassilev, the cultural affairs officer of the Bulgarian Embassy to campus. Vassilev was later denied access to University facilities for a public forum by the University administration due to his status as a representative of a communist regime. This lead to a controversy on free speech.