Over 600 college students converged on Boston this weekend to join the Harvard Model United Nations sponsored by the International Relations Council.

The conference began Thursday with registration and will conclude Sunday morning with an awards ceremony. Students from some 60 colleges as far away as Nebraska are serving as delegates.

The purpose of the conference is to "stimulate the United Nations and give students the environment in which they can learn," Glead S. Gordon '79, secretary general, said yesterday.

Two highlights of the session were speeches yesterday by John K. Fairbank '29, Higginson Professor of History, and Edwin O. Resichauer, University Professor.

Conference headquarters are at the Sheraton Hotel in Boston, but yesterday's session was held at the Business School.

Gordon said the purpose of the conference is to "work with other people and learn first hand about diplomacy and foreign relations."

An innovation in the annual event, Gordon said, was the elimination of prepared resolutions in favor of more flexibile debate and parliamentary maneuverings.

The delegates belong to one of five committees or to the Security Council. Resolutions are debated and conference officials, all Harvard students, judge participants for the awards.

Fight Apartheid

In one intensely busy committee meeting the Argentinian delegate called for the "hammer of the United Nations" to come down on South Africa for its racial policies.

The delegates also spent a considerable amount of time partying in the Sheraton and visiting the Boston area. Florentino A. Guizar '79, a conference official, said yesterday, "I think this is a very unique educational experience that can be advantageous in another aspect."

"Peruvian delegate" Nancy L. Musmeci, a student from Wells College in upstate New York, said she came for "a ride to Boston."

33 1/3 Revolutions a Second

On Thursday members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) delegation, dressed in Arabic costumes and armed with toy machine guns and a waterpipe kidnapped a conference official from the Sheraton.

James F. Bogin '79, one of the PLO delegates, said, "We had all the businessmen swearing off drinking.