When playwright Tom Stoppard's characters spout off about chaos theory, the audience understands. They also get the fractal geometry he's woven into the dialogue. That's why Professor of Mathematics Michael Henle arranged for student actors starring in the theater and dance department's September production of Stoppard's Arcadia to perform a few scenes for his math students.

"Tom Stoppard is better at explaining very complicated mathematical concepts than anyone," Henle told the students who gathered for the lunchtime private performance. Judging from the lively discussion afterward, they liked Stoppard's style.

Enrollment in the College of Arts and Sciences exceeded targets by 28 students this fall, and in the Conservatory of Music, targets were surpassed by 23 students. Needless to say, it's been a good year for Oberlin's admissions officers.

A total of 643 new students, including 50 transfer and 44 double-degree students, have enrolled in the College. Debra Chermonte, director of College admissions, reported that the percentage of applicants who were admitted (62 percent) and the percentage of those admitted who enrolled (29 percent) were the best for the College of Arts and Sciences since 1990. The median unweighted grade-point average of the new students was 3.52 on a 4.0 scale, and the aggregate median SAT I score was 1310.

In the Conservatory, 30 percent of applicants were admitted, and 51 percent of those admitted enrolled at Oberlin. Of the 167 new students who entered this fall, 132 are first-year degree candidates, 23 are transfer students, 6 are performance-diploma students, five are artist-diploma students, and 1 is a master's degree candidate in historical performance. Forty-eight percent of the new students received superior-level composite audition ratings as judged by the faculty in the entrance auditions, according to Michael Manderen, director of Conservatory admissions.

Senior environmental studies and geology major Susan Moran recently convened meetings of campus activists representing 16 states and 60 colleges and universities. She is the first Oberlin student to serve as chair of the National Student Forum and vice chair of the United States Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG).

Oberlin is getting closer to joining the paperless society.

Frustrated by the overwhelming amount of paper used in all-student mailings that was thrown into mailroom trash bins, Devin Theriot-Orr '97 and Sadhu Johnston '98 devised a new scheme. Now, when anyone wants to send a message to the entire student body, they use Oberlin Shorts, a new communi- cations vehicle devised through consultations among the students and several administrative offices.

Students are now sent a weekly mailing that contains abbreviated announcements. The full text is posted on Oberlin Online, Oberlin's Web site, and full-text printouts are posted in the mailroom. A student coordinator who works with both the Office of College Relations and the Office of Environmental Health and Safety oversees the program.

When Theriot-Orr and Johnston proposed the program last year, they estimated that it would result in a 79 percent reduction in the amount of paper used for all-student mailings.

Johnston notes that in recent weeks, the number of notices has been increasing and positive comments have been coming in. "I'm happy that people are starting to take an interest in the program and in conserving paper," he said.

A healing garden full of flowering and leafed plants representative of those used by slaves on the road to freedom now graces the College's Underground Railroad Monument on the lawn of Talcott Hall.

Some 60 Oberlin students planted heart leaf, wormwood, mint, bee balm, milkweed, wild indigo, evening primrose, and other herbs to complement the monument, a stylized set of railroad ties emerging at an angle from the earth.

A plaque was also installed. It reads: "This sculpture commemorates Oberlin's participation in the Underground Railroad, a secret network to aid the escape of fugitive slaves to freedom in Canada during the years before the Civil War. It was designed and installed in spring 1977 by Cameron Armstrong, Class of '77. Funding was provided by the Class of 1977 as their gift to the College."

The planting was the second in a series titled "Dig In at Oberlin," planned by College grounds manager Dennis Greive to teach students landscaping as well as the theory and practice of gardening. Greive said the herbs are not intended to be harvested or to be used as medicine, and no pesticides will be used in their maintenance.

The shortage of minority scholars on campuses across the country is a cause of concern nationwide. To address this issue, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation established the Mellon Minority Undergraduate Fellowship Program, designed to encourage the most talented undergraduate minority students to obtain Ph.D. degrees and pursue careers in higher education.

Each fellow receives a stipend for summer work as well as for work done during the academic year. Fellows who go on to obtain Ph.D. degrees may have their undergraduate loans repaid by the Mellon Foundation up to a total of $10,000.

According to Clovis White, director of the Mellon Program at Oberlin, 62 percent of Oberlin's participants have gone on to graduate school since the program's inception in 1989. Thirty-two Oberlin graduates have been Mellon fellows; 14 students are in the current three classes.