Fifty Summer School students volunteered yesterday for work in civil rights leader Noel Day's campaign to win House Speaker John McCormack's Congressional seat in November.

Day, a 31-year-old Negro who heads St. Marks Social Center, called his campaign a political experiment which will be of national importance.

"The current civil rights protests have only limited effectiveness," Day said. "Now we have to go into politics and make issues such as housing, employment, disarmament, and economic conversion relevent on a grass-roots level."

Day chose to run as an independent, following the precedent set by Harvard Professor H. Stuart Hughes who ran for the Senate in 1962. Day said he did not want to run in the Democratic primary so that he will have additional months to campaign.

Day needs 4800 signatures from Boston, but said he sought at least 10,000 to be sure he gets on the ballot. The canvassing for signatures will continue through July 14. Every weekday cars will leave from 44 Brattle St. at 5:30 p.m. and on weekends at 10 a.m. to transport volunteers.