$20,000 Phone Abuse

COLLEGE PARK, Md.--Students at the University of Maryland chalked up a long-distance bill of $20,000 to $25,000 on dormitory hall phones last year.

The resident life office will crack down on students who abuse hall phones by accepting collect calls on them or charging calls to them, the student paper, the Diamondback, reported.

Jon Dooley, resident life facilities manager, said that dorm residents will be asked to pay for any long distance calls they charged to the hall phones, and if they don't volunteer to pay, the phone company will be asked to investigate.

"If someone thinks they can get away with $250 worth of phone bills, they're wrong." Dooley said, adding the "Those residents who think they've been getting a free ride now may be in for a very rude awakening."