On the shores of Lake Matoaka, the revitalized Lake Matoaka Amphitheater waits for the school year and student discovery.

p. The last concert was held there in 2005, meaning only this year’s juniors and seniors could have attended; however they will see a new amphitheater with the members of the incoming freshman class, who are scheduled to see it this weekend. The opening comedy show for Freshman Orientation will be performed there, “so people can get exposed to the area right away,” Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Mark Constantine said.

p. Repairs, which took place between March 2006 and April 2007, included removing graffiti, fixing brick, replacing infrastructure, replacing seating and resurfacing the stage.

p. The result is a clean and accessible venue with the capacity to seat 1,700. Of those seats, 575 are hard seats, while the rest of the space is tiered lawn seating.

p. The $7.5 million project was funded by $2.5 million in 2002 General Obligation Bonds and $5 million privately raised. In order to combat deterioration after the expensive project, the Student Affairs Office will stay on top of repairs and staff will be down there during events, Constantine said.

p. “[There are] not any specific policies to prevent damage, but we will know when it’s going to be used. Because of the amount of money [spent], we will have staff down there during events,” Constantine said. “Though the times it’s not being used, people can walk down there, so you just have to hope that will be okay.”

p. Constantine said he is hopeful that students will use the facility frequently.

p. “As with any facility on campus, students that want to use it will go to the scheduling office and request Matoaka. Then they will probably talk to me about what would be approved and what wouldn’t be approved,” he said. “If there were 50 people attending, then no, it wouldn’t make sense to use it. We’ll use it primarily for entertainment and that type of thing.”

p. UCAB already has a number of events lined up. Hypnotist Tom Deluca will perform there Sept. 1. Over the summer, bands performed there every Wednesday night. The Matoaka Summer Concerts Series, formerly known as New Town After Hours, ran from June 13 to Aug. 22.

p. During the year, the amphitheater will be available for the public to rent out. Administration will be cautious at first with renting it out, so that students can have priority, especially during times like spring break and commencement, Constantine said.

p. However, Sheila Sheppard, ’06, who was class president for two years and was appointed to the Building Committee for the project, still worries that the amphitheater will be too public.

p. “I was only able to attend one meeting, at which point the bulk of the decision making had been made regarding the extent of the project, its budget and scope,” she said. “I recall that a concern was that the amphitheater would become less a student venue and more a tourist and community venue.”

p. Constantine remains confident that students will make the most use of the facility.

p. “I think when students see it, they’ll be very impressed. We’ll have a harder time keeping people away than anything,” he said. “It won’t take long to catch on.”

p. The amphitheater was built in 1947 for Paul Green’s drama “The Common Glory,” which tells the story of the American Revolution. Attendance declined after tourists started losing interest in the 1950s. When the play failed to attract attendees during America’s Bicentennial in 1976, its producers gave up and an era of student use began.

p. “It was one of my favorite retreats as a student, first introduced to me by my freshman year RA during a hall program,” Sheppard said. “We walked down from Barrett Hall and soaked in the sunshine and peaceful atmosphere, part of its charm no doubt being its slightly abandoned and liberated atmosphere. The towers, commemorated with mysterious graffiti, were particularly endearing.”

p. Several concerts were held there over the years, including The Dave Matthews Band in 1994, Ben Folds in 2003 and the Pat McGee Band in 2005.

p. “It was for ‘The Common Glory’ play; after that it was used for student, faculty and community events,” Vice President for Administration Anna Martin said. “It was used less frequently as it deteriorated.” Even so, students seemed to enjoy the location.

p. “I also recall going to several rallies, one for my brother’s campaign for Student Assembly office, complete with a mini bonfire. I know many sororities and fraternities as well as other organizations used the place for fund raising events,” Sheppard said. “I also frequently enjoyed the amphitheater to bring my family to sit on the dock when they visited, or to study with friends or have a picnic on the grass. It was a place where students could venture, still being on campus but escaping the manicured structures and watchful eye.”

p. Students will no longer remember Matoaka Amphitheater as a hideout, but the promised events will help them make memories there all the same.

p. The College’s acceptance rate for the Class of 2011 is 34 percent, a two percent increase from last year.

p. That percentage reflects the 3,652 students who were accepted out of an overall applicant pool of 10,852 — the largest in College history. As of June 12, the yield rate for enrolled students was 37 percent. The College’s goal for the class size is 1,350 enrolled students, the same as last year. As of now, 1,358 have enrolled.

p. Dean of Admissions Henry Broaddus attributed the higher acceptance rate to the fact that fewer early decision students were accepted this year, as a result of having fewer early decision applicants. Broaddus said that fewer applicants could be the result of negative publicity about early acceptance programs at schools like the University of Virginia and Princeton University. For the Class of 2011, 396 early applicants were admitted, while 440 were admitted in the previous year.

p. Broaddus noted that having fewer early decision admits is also a major part of the decreased yield rate, because fewer students are bound to attend the College under and early decision contract.

p. Male applicants were admitted at a rate 16 percent higher than female applicants.

p. This caught the attention of U.S. News & World Report in an article about the increasing difficulty to maintain gender equality on college campuses, noting that the College “is altering its admissions rates to achieve gender balance, if not parity. In the past decade, the school’s portion of women in the undergraduate body has fallen from 60 percent to 54 percent.”

p. Out of the 10,528 applications fielded for admission this fall, 64 percent were female. Despite this statistic, only 53 percent of the admitted students were female, meaning that 28 percent of female applicants were admitted, compared to 44 percent of male applicants.

p. The Department of Education reported that the college-bound population is 57 percent female, and will grow to 60 percent female by 2010.

p. “Our awareness of this demographic reality certainly informs our recruitment strategy in terms of striving to ensure that qualified men know about the opportunities available at [the College],” Broaddus said.

p. Both genders had about a 37 percent yield rate, generating an enrolling class of 728 females and 630 males.

p. “[The College] values a gender balance within its student community,” Broaddus said. “Nonetheless, at no point in our admission process do we hold men, or any other subset of the applicant pool, to a different set of admission standards. The only demographic criterion to which the College is beholden is the in-state/out-of-state ratio of 65/35 as per its agreement with the commonwealth of Virginia.”

p. Sixty-one students were accepted from the waitlist for this fall, which is a significant leap from the 14 who were accepted from last year’s waitlist. Waitlist admission rates vary every year, but typically remain under 5 percent of the overall class.

p. “Many institutions intentionally control the last portion of the class through the waitlist in order to avoid oversubscribing their on-campus housing. We try to hit the mark as closely as possible without use of the waitlist, and a margin of error under 5 percent is actually quite good when it comes to predicting the behavior of 17 year olds,” Broaddus said.

p. The waitlist may be used more frequently if the number of early decision admits continues to drop, to make up for students who are admitted at the College but choose to enroll elsewhere.

p. “Predictability for an enrolling class has become an increasingly slippery thing,” Broaddus said. “The average number of applications a student submits continues to rise. Furthermore, the absence of an early admission round for Harvard, Princeton and p. U.Va. next year means that more of the highly competitive students who matriculate at those institutions will persist longer in the admission process at other institutions, including [the College.]”

p. 27 percent of out-of-state students were accepted, compared to 43 percent of in-state students. The acceptance rate for minority students was 47 percent, which represents 26 percent of the total admitted students. Legacy applicants had a 57 percent acceptance rate, and 51 percent of transfer students were accepted.

p. The class includes a real estate appraiser, a banjo player, a locomotive engine racer, an antique phonograph collector, a women’s lacrosse player who was featured in Sports Illustrated, a female captain of a men’s golf team and a student who founded an organization that raised $40,000 for breast cancer research.

p. “As the profile of this year’s class evidences, we continue to deliver a diverse and accomplished freshman class,” Broaddus said. “At the end of the day, that’s the benchmark that counts most.”

p. The College Delly will not be sold to Starbucks.

p. Many students feared that the local eatery would be out of business this fall due to reports last year that the owner was close to reaching an agreement with the national coffee chain.

p. The Delly, though, has been sold to Jerry Tsitsidopoulous, who plans to retain the College Delly name and food. Tsitsidopoulous is the owner of Jerry’s Painting, also in Williamsburg.

p. Dean Tsamouras, the Delly’s former owner, sold the name, inventory and furnishings to Tsitsidopoulous on Aug. 13. Tsamouras will still own the land and building.

p. He told the Daily Press that he was glad to sell the Delly to a local man who has a family and is involved in the Williamsburg community.

p. “I think the Delly is a family business,” Tsamouras said in an interview with the Daily Press. “I’m happy, so happy… because I want it to go on.”

p. Tsitsidopoulous decided to buy the Delly about a month ago and plans to continue running it as a family business.

p. “I have four sons, all raised in Williamsburg, and it would be a great place for them to work someday,” Tsitsidopoulous said.

p. As far as the future of the Delly, Tsitsidopoulous plans to make minimal changes, mostly dealing with the appearance of the building. He is going to put money toward painting both the outside and the inside, as well as landscaping and getting new awnings. The menu will not be changed at all.

p. This arrangement should appease the multitudes of students who protested the sale of the Delly to Starbucks. The Student Assembly passed a “Defense of Night Life” act that opposed the deal, and many students joined anti-Starbucks Facebook groups.

p. “I want to have more specials for college students and themed nights [like hookah nights] on Wednesdays and other days too,” Tsitsidopulous said. “I want the college kids to come here and just eat and drink and have fun.”

p. The College is the 33rd best doctoral-granting university in the country, according to the 2008 U.S. News & World report rankings, released Aug. 20. The College fell from its previous ranking of 31, a position it had held for the past four years.

p. Taking the College’s place at 31 this year are two universities — Brandeis University, which shared the position with the College last year, and Lehigh University, which was ranked 33 last year.

p. College President Gene Nichol welcomed the new rankings.

p. “We’re pleased that U.S. News continues to recognize William and Mary as one of the nation’s very best universities,” Nichol said to William and Mary News. “While rankings can never capture the enthusiasm and talent of our students, faculty and staff, or the dedication and pride of our alumni, they remind us all that this great College is a national treasure. They remind, too, that we must always strive for excellence, opportunity and greater financial support for our College.”

p. The College did improve in some aspects of the annual rankings — its financial resources ranked 106th this year, up from 111th last year. The College’s financial resources ranking has steadily improved over the past few years, but it is still the worst showing for any of the top 50 national universities. The College recently completed its seven-year $500 million fundraising campaign, raising more than $517 million.

p. The College took a hit in its peer score – the most heavily weighted factor. After years of having a peer score of 3.8 out of 5.0, the College dipped to a 3.7 score this year.

p. Princeton University tops the list for the eighth year in a row. Princeton is followed by second-ranked Harvard University and third-ranked Yale University.

p. The College remains the sixth-highest-ranked public university in the country, falling behind 21st-ranked University of California — Berkeley, 23rd-ranked University of Virginia, 25th-ranked University of California Los Angeles and University of Michigan and 28th-ranked University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill, but ahead of 35th-ranked Georgia Institute of Technology.

p. The College’s best showing in the annual rankings came in 1988 when it was ranked 22. In 1996, the College received its lowest ranking of 34. The College was ranked 33 two times previously — in 1997 and 1999.

p. The rankings are available as part of U.S. News & World Report’s annual “America’s Best Colleges” guide.

p. The largest fundraising initiative in College history officially closed June 30 with $518 million, although it surpassed its $500 million goal June 8. Implemented in 2003 by former President Tim Sullivan, the campaign includes donations from more than 60,400 College alumni, parents and friends.

p. “These are remarkable figures,” College President Gene Nichol said June 24 in a College press release. “But numbers alone cannot adequately express the impact this campaign has had, and will continue to have, in the life of the College.”

p. The fund benefits scholarships, professorships, research, construction projects and many other initiatives.

p. “The campaign is an investment in the present and future of this great institution — it is an investment in our people, programs and places,” Sean Pieri, vice president for University Development, said.

p. The College’s total endowment grew by more than $109 million during the course of the campaign.

p. Nichol exalts the commitment of Sullivan as well as the numerous students, faculty and alumni who contributed. “Again and again they answer the College’s call to invest in our exceptional students and faculty — who continue, always, to press the boundaries of academic excellence.”

p. Of the money raised, $112 million supports academic research and student scholarships, $45 million supports faculty and $61 million supports construction and maintenance. Facilities that have already benefited from campaign funds include Alan B. Miller Hall, the Integrated Science Center and the Lake Matoaka Amphitheater.

p. The Campaign raised $81 million in unrestricted funds, which enable the College to address immediate needs. For Nichol, these flexible funds “fuel the entire College, allowing us to address opportunities when and where we find them.”

p. The College signed a contract with NTI Group Inc. for an emergency alert system that will be implemented this fall. The Connect-ED system, which cost between $20,000 and $22,000, allows members of the College’s emergency action team to contact students, faculty, and other College employees by cell phone calls, text messages and e-mails instantaneously.

p. “We demonstrated the system to [local] press and [their cell phones] rang immediately,” Vice President for Student Affairs Sam Sadler said. “One woman literally jumped out of her chair.”

p. According to Tina Coleman of IT services, members of the College’s Emergency Team are able to access the Connect-ED system online, where they can select message recipients, record and type the actual message and choose a time for message distribution. After completing these steps, the system immediately transmits voicemail and text messages to e-mails and cell phones. The system can hold up to six phone numbers and two e-mail addresses per individual.

p. “[It] adds a great deal to our ability to communicate,” Sadler said. “No more waiting for three hours for my e-mail.”

p. Sadler believes that the Connect-ED system is a vast improvement over the previous method of sending mass e-mails. While the e-mails sometimes take several hours to reach students, Sadler said the new system allows for instant communication.

p. “Students can feel assured if there is a true emergency, [they] will get immediate notice,” he said.

p. Sadler and Coleman both said that the Connect-ED system will be used only for emergency messages.

p. “An emergency can be defined as any situation that is a threat of injury or harm to the campus community or inclement weather that may result in a College closing,” Coleman said.

p. Sadler agreed. “It is intended to be used only when we go into emergency mode,” he said.

p. Sadler, who chairs the emergency management team, and others including Vice President Anna Martin, members of the IT staff and Campus Police Chief Don Challis, began looking for a new method of communication last January while reviewing emergency protocol.

p. Challis said that after a request for proposals from companies was submitted, the team looked at the companies’ backgrounds and whether they focused on sending emergency information rather than just timely information. He said that the NTI Group Inc., which has a history of working with schools, best fit the college.

p. Sadler also said that he felt the Connect-ED system was a good fit for the College. He was impressed by the system’s response time and its ability to simultaneously send voicemail and text messages.

p. In addition, the system has follow-up capabilities to check and see which numbers and e-mail addresses the messages could not be delivered to.

p. Coleman added that the system has the capability of sending two million messages per hour.

p. “The likelihood that we are not able to get through to students is pretty slim,” Sadler said.

p. Sadler added that early after students return for fall semester, the College will run drills of the system for everyone. He said it was important to give students a sense of what the new system is like.

p. Students will be able to enter contact information into Banner by the beginning of the semester.

p. Sadler encouraged students to keep the College updated with contact numbers, which the college will only use in the event of an emergency.

p. “Anytime we improve communication it contributes to safe conditions,” he said.

p. The Recording Industry Association of America filed lawsuits June 14 against seven network users at the College for allegedly distributing copyrighted music.

p. April 12, the RIAA sent 12 pre-litigation letters to the College that identified network users only by their IP addresses. College officials were asked to forward the letters to the network users whose addresses appeared on them.

p. According to senior Mac Garber, who received one of the 12 letters, the network users were asked to settle for $3,000 or face a lawsuit.

p. The RIAA has now issued subpoenas for the names of the seven students who apparently refused to settle.

p. “Once that individual’s identity has been revealed, RIAA representatives will contact that individual directly to discuss a settlement of the claims — albeit at a greater sum than for those who settled in the pre-litigation phase,” says a statement released June 14 by the RIAA.

The Campaign for William and Mary reached its $500 million fundraising goal earlier this month. According to the campaign’s website, the College raised $508 million as of June 8. The official end of the seven-year campaign is June 30.

College President Gene Nichol sent an e-mail to students, faculty and staff announcing the end of the campaign.

“We knew, when we embarked on this effort in 2000, that our goal was ambitious,” Nichol said. “But we also understood the remarkable devotion of the William and Mary family — and have been beyond heartened to see its members join together for the cause of the College.”

According to Nichol, two recent gifts totally about $2 million helped put the campaign over the top about three weeks before the deadline.

The College previously reported that the campaign surpassed its $500 million goal earlier this year, but the campaign fell below its target when a donor revoked a $12 million pledge, citing the College’s decision to remove a cross from the chapel of the Wren Building. That donation would have been one of the 10 largest in the College’s history.

About half of the campaign earnings will go into the College’s endowment, which most recently stood at about $492 million. Updated endowment figures are expected this summer.