With no arrests made and no extensive damage done, university and local law enforcement officials are saying the mob of more than 500 students who took over Iowa State late Thursday was the result of “spring fever.”

“I think that if you really look at what happened is that students got together, is that they were loud,” said Thomas Hill, vice president for Student Affairs. “They moved from one location to another; they blocked traffic at a couple of intersections, tore down a couple of signs — but for the most part, they were having fun.”

The incident began at about 10 p.m. when residents in Towers halls started yelling at each from their windows and then gathered outside in the commons area. This is similar to a gathering that occurred at about the same time last year at Towers Residence Association.

However, last year, the “spring fever” celebration stayed in one central location.

This year, the crowd traveled down Welch Avenue to Lake LaVerne, to Friley and Helser halls and to the Richardson Court Association, picking up followers along the way.

The riot wasn’t completely peaceful — some students tore down street signs and turned over trash cans and newspaper containers in their paths.

The rioters also chanted “Fuck dry Veishea,” “The Hawkeyes suck” and “No classes tomorrow.”

After recruiting students from other residence halls, the crowd stormed The Knoll, where “Fuck dry Veishea” once again was chanted, and some students mooned and streaked.

The riot ended at about 2 a.m. with a decreased number of students gathered at the Campanile after traveling through the greek system to Jack Trice Stadium. Police officers, who had made their presence known from the riot’s start, intervened when students started burning their clothes in front of the Campanile.

Loras Jaeger, director of the Department of Public Safety, said officers followed normal procedure in handling the crowd.

“It was not an antagonistic crowd at all. This was a very jovial crowd,” he said. “However, that does not say that some of their behavior was not childish.”

Jaeger said when tearing down street signs, most students don’t realize car accidents can result from what may seem like petty vandalism.

Most of the street signs were back up by Friday afternoon, and Hill said the expense to replace them will be paid for by the university.

Hill said students do not realize that those types of expenses increase the costs of attending the university.

“Where do students think that money comes from when they do things like that?” he asked.

He said he is “pretty thankful that the damage was not extensive.”

Hill, who was notified by DPS of the gathering at 11:45 p.m., said he met up with the crowd of students at The Knoll.

“I started asking the students, ‘Where are we going?’ and they’d say, ‘I don’t know,’ and ‘What are we doing?’ and they’d say, ‘I don’t know,'” he said.

Though “Fuck dry Veishea” was one of the phrases students chanted, Hill said he did not find that surprising.

“I don’t want to minimize the fact that dry Veishea is a concern among students,” he said. “It’s typical for Iowa State that Veishea is important to students, and they talk about a specific topic if they feel strongly about it.”

In the past, Veishea has been known to have a few disturbances, including the riots in 1988 and 1992. It is questionable as to whether last week’s incident is a precursor of what’s to come during this year’s Veishea.

“I certainly hope that it will not [happen during Veishea] because students stand to lose something that is very important to them,” Hill said. “I have confidence in the students that cooler heads will prevail.”

ISU President Martin Jischke, who was at home when the students stormed The Knoll, also hopes Thursday night’s gathering doesn’t become a ritual.

“I hope this doesn’t become a pattern because it doesn’t reflect well on the students, and it doesn’t reflect well on the university,” he said.

Jischke said he did not approve of the inappropriate language some of the students used, but that it is expected.

Despite the minor vandalism, Hill said the university does not plan to take judicial action against any of the students.

“Based on what I know, I have no basis at this point to take any action against the students,” he said. “There’s no reason for it.”

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Daily staff writer Abbie Moeller contributed to this report.