More than 40 Harvard volunteers tutored Mead School students at the Fidelis Way housing project yesterday afternoon--the first major turnout for Ned Coll's Revitalization Corps since he began recruiting student tutors a month ago.

Victor Koufman '80, Harvard's main Revitalization Corps organizer, said yesterday Coll has "definitely tapped some sentiment here by challenging kids head on and making them think about important questions." Koufman added that they hope to get at least two buses for next week, in the hopes that more students will become involved.

Approximately the same number of Harvard volunteers are expected to show up this afternoon in front of the John Harvard statue. Each volunteer will be assigned a youngster with whom to get acquainted and to tutor one day a week.

Dean Yarborough, Mead School principal, said yesterday, "I was very enthusiastic about it. The reception of our students and the number of Harvard volunteers was very exciting. It proves to me that students at Harvard do care about poor kids and their future," he added.

"It was kind of embarrassing when Yarborough was speaking to us, with all the kids there and everything, telling us how great we were," Meg Ziegler '81, said yesterday. "He was really excited to have us there and so were the kids."

Most students said yesterday they plan to continue to tutor on a weekly basis