A surprise announcement from University Hall yesterday revealed that John Benjamin Obbey, a two ounce tautly residing in the Registrar's Office, will attempt to swim the English Channel next summer.

The turtle now practices nightly under the tutelage of Registrar clerks Shirley Dixon and Lois Bickford, who discovered him in Maine two months ago. The trainers and now at work peeling his paint so he can swim the Channel nude.

The first problem the girls encountered occurred shortly after the turtle took up residence in a University Hall goldfish bowl. After days of planning and ballyhoo, the trainers discovered to their chagrin that the turtle couldn't swim. They blamed it on the goldfish.

Two in a Tub

Umbashed by this setback, Miss Dixon took the turtle to her West Newton home that night and joined him in the bathtub. "He swam and he swam and he swam," Miss Dixon said, recounting the thrill of the event.

"He spent a log of time in may bathtub after that and I knew that if he ever swam the English Channel, it would have to be with a woman."