But according to his application to Lincoln University, Marshall said his goal was to become a lawyer. Among his classmates were poet Langston Hughes and musician Cab Calloway. Initially he did not take his studies seriously, and was suspended twice for hazing and pranks against fellow students. He was not politically active at first, becoming a "star" of the debating team. In his first year Marshall opposed the integration of African-American professors at the university. Hughes later described Marshall as "rough and ready, loud and wrong". In his second year Marshall participated in a sit-in protest against segregation at a local movie theater. That year he was initiated as a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first fraternity founded by and for blacks. In September 1929 he married Vivien Buster Burey and began to take his studies seriously, graduating "cum laude" with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American literature and philosophy. Marshall wanted to study in his hometown law school, the University of Maryland School of Law, but did not apply because of the school's segregation policy. Marshall attended Howard University School of Law, where he worked harder than he had at Lincoln. His mother had to pawn her wedding and engagement rings to pay the tuition. His views on discrimination were strongly influenced by the dean, Charles Hamilton Houston. In 1933, Marshall graduated first in his law class at Howard. After graduating from law school, Marshall started a private law practice in Baltimore. He began his 25-year affiliation with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1934 by representing the organization in the law school discrimination suit "Murray v. Pearson". In 1936, Marshall became part of the national staff of the NAACP. In "Murray v. Pearson", Marshall represented Donald Gaines Murray, a black Amherst College graduate with excellent credentials, who was denied admission to the University of Maryland Law School because of its segregation policy. Black students in Maryland wanting to study law had to attend segregated establishments, Morgan College, the Princess Anne Academy, or out-of-state black institutions. Using the strategy developed by Nathan Margold, Marshall argued that Maryland's segregation policy violated the "separate but equal" doctrine of "Plessy v. Ferguson" because the state did not provide a comparable educational opportunity at a state-run black institution. The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled against the state of Maryland and its Attorney General, who represented the University of Maryland, stating, "Compliance with the Constitution cannot be deferred at the will of the state.