The Sedov sailors, most of them teenagers, also embarked on their journey with a full supply of Harvard hats.

GRO 1, WHALES 0

At last June's Commencement exercises, Norway Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland--fresh from the Earth Summit in Rio de Janiero, Brazil--delivered an idealistic keynote speech about the importance of the environment.

Less than a month later, the acclaimed environmentalist was under fire from wildlife defense groups who criticized her decision to resume Norway's commercial whale hunt.

Brundtland, who gave the keynote address at the Rio conference, based her decision on scientific evidence she said showed that certain whale populations are no longer endangered.

But representatives of Greenpeace and other organizations said the scientific evidence may be full of blow holes. In addition, they said, Norway's economy does not rely on the whale trade, and whale meat only appeals to a very small market of affluent Japanese.

BANG THE DRUM SOFTLY

Street musicians and Square residents clashed before the City Council this summer over an act that critics claim will effectively ban drum playing in Cambridge.

In August, the council passed the act, which restricts the allowable noise from public performances to 80 decibels from a distance of 25 feet--half the distance previously required. From 150 feet, street musicians' dulcet tones must must now be inaudible.

Square residents called drumming "a worm on the brain" and complained about its effects on mental health. But street musicians complained of cultural elitism, bias and censorship, and warned that when percussion is suppressed, the Square's eclectic atmosphere will dampen.

MOVING UP IN THE WORLD

The library's Government Documents and Microforms Division--currently housed in dark, cramped Lamont subbasement--may move to the first floor of Lamont.

Larsen Librarian of Harvard College Richard De Gennaro commissioned architectural plans for a revamped Gov Docs workspace, which would fill Lamont's seldom-used first floor reading room. The project would cost between $400,000 and $500,000, and would come from building reserves and other funds.

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences library committee must approve the changes this fall before any construction can begin.

THE BELL TOLLS