A crowd of freshmen run down Wisconsin Avenue, their bare legs flashing in the sun beneath red woolen underwear. They had been captured by sophomores the night before, their pants confiscated to prevent their escape, but they have fought their way out to join the annual hazing tussle with the older students.

Welcome to the 1921-'22 school year at Marquette.

Although the university would ban hazing in 1923, the '20s were a time of tremendous growth and change, which began to transform Marquette into the university we know today.

The students played a major role in this transition, becoming more involved on campus and more engaged in activities. With enrollment creeping toward 3,000, they were a force to be reckoned with.

"There just seems to be an energy coming out of World War I," said Thomas Jablonsky, associate professor of history, whose book on Marquette history is scheduled for publication after Easter. "There does seem to be kind of a lift, certainly in terms of the university leadership, in terms of the finances, even one of the great student leaders, Peter Brooks."

Brooks, who would later become the Rev. Brooks, university president from 1944-'48, began organizing the first student government in 1920. This all-male Marquette Union had power over mostly social activities – of which there were plenty on campus.

The growth of Greek life (shown by the creation of the Fraternity Union in 1922) led to an abundance of dances on campus, under the complete control of the administration.

"You spend the weekend going from party to party," Jablonsky said. "And then everything shuts down during Lent."

Theater groups were created, performing everything from vaudeville to religious pageants. Music and choral groups were founded, and the Marquette Glee Club came to new life, touring Wisconsin and performed on Marquette's new radio station.

Clubs were formed for the few out-of-towners: a university survey of the time counted 150 Illinois students, about 100 from Michigan and 68 Minnesotans, Jablonsky said. On-campus university housing would not exist until the late '30s, so most students either commuted or lived in the numerous apartment buildings around the campus grounds, creating headaches for the administration.

"In the '20s, for the first time, the university does get interested in the behavior of students," Jablonsky said. "They begin to worry about the morality, and Prohibition is on so illegal drinking is going on."

Another organizational feat accomplished by the students was Homecoming, begun in 1921. City businesses decorated their windows for the occasion, and a parade made its way through Milwaukee before the main event: the Nov. 19 football game against Notre Dame, the last time the schools would meet on the gridiron.

The football team at Marquette was one of the best around in the '20s, cause enough for the alumni association to raise money for a stadium at 35th and Michigan streets.

"It was at a time when universities around the country didn't see construction of athletic facilities, or student unions for that matter, as their responsibility," said Matt Blessing, director of special collections and university archives at Raynor Memorial Libraries.

But an athletic facility was the first major campus construction of that period – the gymnasium on the corner of 16th and Michigan streets was built in 1922. This was partially for the recently-created sport of basketball, but mostly for the physical education requirement the Jesuits promoted.

"To them, sports was only good because young people needed exercise and so they really promoted intramurals," Jablonsky said. "The nurses had like three hockey teams."

The gym was just the beginning of architectural expansion. Marquette Hall (then the Science Building) and the Law School were built in 1924.

Campus at the time was divided into two sections, as the university did not own the property from 13th to 15th streets, Blessing said. Other departments were housed in the area's many residential buildings.

"Like any university, Marquette would buy these houses and use them for department headquarters," Blessing said.

Although there were more plans for buildings, these were put by the wayside when the Depression hit. This marked the end to a time when the university took great strides toward its future.

Still, at least at Marquette, some things never change.

"That goal of being a Jesuit, Catholic university, and trying to understand what that means in 2007 vs. 1927, continues to be the goal," Jablonsky said.

Note: Background research for this article is from "The Story of Marquette University" by the Rev. Raphael Hamilton.