Ma Bell Blunders: Links Claverly To Far-Off Locales

The New England Telephone Company mistakenly linked a Centrex telephone located outside of Claverly Hall to an unlimited-use outside line, permitting long distance calls to be made during the first month of this semester.

The long-distance charges may run into the thousands of dollars, John Crump '72, a freshman proctor in Claverly, said yesterday. He said that a similar mistake three years ago in Currier House resulted in a bill of approximately $10,000.

Joan Spitale, a representative of the telephone company's business office, was unable to estimate the cost of the error when contacted yesterday. "The calls will come out of the computer as unlocated tolls and will be investigated and rebilled to the proper people," she said. She said that it may require several months for the extent of the charges to be known due to a backlog of such calls at the phone company.

James T. O'Shea, director of telecommunications of Centrex, said that necessary alterations were completed by Monday. He said that the phone company's computer erred by assigning the phone "unrestricted status" instead of limiting the phone's use to only on-campus calls.

One Claverly freshman said that during freshman orientation week only a few residents knew of the opportunity to make free long-distance phone calls, but after about three weeks the phone was in almost constant use in the evenings. He said that on busy nights, someone would stand by the curb to scout for approaching advisers.

Beer and Pizza

"For about a week, it was a social gathering as students occasionally brought down beer and once sent out for pizza," said another resident. "People came with a list of numbers and used the phone just to be adventurous," he said. Calls were made to Europe and Brazil in addition to locations across the United States.

Martin Cain '68, the senior adviser in Claverly, said that he called the Harvard Police upon discovering the reason for the phone's popularity. He said that surveillance by the police until the phone was repaired ended the gatherings outside the building.

If an adviser approached while a long distance call was being made, the lookout would notify the caller who in turn would modify his conversation to minimize suspicion.