Through the cool air on this commencement morning, the ringing of 15 sets of bells will herald the Class of 1997.

In a tradition dating to 1989, the bells of Memorial Church and the Lowell House tower will join 13 Cambridge churches at 11:45 a.m., the conclusion of the Commencement ceremony.

Three members of the Class of '98 will ring Lowell House's bells tomorrow morning. According to bell-ringer Luis A. Campos '98, more than a dozen hand pulls and a foot pedal control the bells.

Campo said he looks forward to looking the bells for commencement.

"It is a nice thing to do. It makes someone else's day a little special," he said.

The Lowell House bells were origi- nally from the Donailov Monastery in Russia. They were donated in the 1930s by an alum who wanted to save them from destruction by the communists.

The largest of Lowell's bells, which residents call "Mother Earth," weighs about 13 tons.

According to Campo, the position of bell-ringer at one time included a stipend, but students have performed gratis for many years.

At Christ Church in Cambridge, a guild of parish bell-ringers will ring the bells, according to Richard Whittington, an administrator at the church.

Christ Church's chimes were a gift from Harvard's class of 1859 in honor of the church's centennial year.CrimsonMatthew P. MillerKlappermeister LUIS A. CAMPOS '99 prepares to ring one of Lowell House's Russian Bells.