The nation's second oldest University will begin to celebrate its tercentennial anniversary tomorrow with a campus-wide party and a 300-pound cake.

Yale, which claims a founding in October of 1701, will host a year's worth of events on its New Haven campus to mark the milestone.

Tomorrow's kick-off celebration will feature behind-the-scenes tours, art and musical performances, games, and even appearances by bulldogs.

The cake, perhaps the most highly anticipated part of the opening ceremony, will be shaped like a part of the campus where Yale's first-year students used to live.

Yale President Richard Levin will make the first cut.

Students contacted last night were excited but somewhat distanced from the festivities.

"It's a little pretentious to get too proud over it, because most of us haven't done much," said Yale senior Eric N. Ries. "But it's still pretty cool."

"There is excitement here," said senior Jeff A. Goldstein, "even though it's not that big of a deal."

Others said they really weren't paying much attention.

"I actually know very little about the celebration. I haven't paid that much attention," said Derek C. Keil, a sophomore.

Yale has not set any attendance goals but has put energy and resources into a major publicity effort in the past few days.

Banners are strung across busy New Haven streets, and area newspapers, radio stations and magazines are saturated with advertisements.

In September, the university mailed a brochure to every home in New Haven. Yale sent an official invitation to its students via e-mail on Wednesday night.

The Tercentennial Steering Committee, which includes Yale College Council President Elizabeth H. Smiley, guided the planning for the celebration.

"We want to open the community of Yale to the public. It's a celebration of all Yale is and what we've accomplished in 300 years," Smiley said. "It should be lots of fun."

Smiley said that some of Yale's students might not know much about the celebration because its primary purpose is to welcome the outside community to Yale.

"We have other events later in the year designed solely for students," Smiley said.

The Yale Tercentennial website at www.yale.edu/yale300 contains a link to a complete list of activities for "Opening Yale 300."