6 Columbia Spectator Editors May File Phonetapping Suit

Seven staff members of the Columbia Daily Spectator and two of WKCR, Columbia's radio station, plan to file suit against Columbia University for allegedly tapping the organizations' phones.

Dan Bolgin, a Spectator staffer, said yesterday that all Spectator callers who mentioned antiwar strikes early yesterday morning were abruptly cut off.

"It happened to three or four of us, we'd be talking and then we'd mention the strike and they'd cut us off," he said.

A Columbia spokesman said yesterday she had not heard about the suit. "All I know is that we've been having trouble with our phones all day, it's nothing peculiar to them," she said, referring to the newspaper and radio station.

The American Civil Liberties Union is providing legal assistance for the plaintiffs, Bolgin said.

Long Distance

Spectator staffers said yesterday that the alleged wiretapping probably began when students occupying Hamilton Hall used University phones for long-distance calls, prompting the University to cut them off.

"I just can't believe McGill would order a thing like this," Bolgin said. "But it may have been someone on his own, either fooling around or on purpose."

Columbia Centrex

The Spectator and WKCR phones are part of Columbia's Centrex system and thus can be controlled by Columbia operators.