Article "Prank calls plague Westhampton"

Article "Prank calls plague Westhampton"

This article describes harassment experienced by residents of Westhampton College in the spring semester of 1987. The article samples dialogue from a prank caller, and discusses the reactions of a sophomore student to whom the call was placed. "Rarely does a day go by when a Westhampton College student does not get at least one obscene or prank phone call," the article reports. In the 1986-1987 school year, about 36 prank phone calls were reported to campus police Sgt. John Sheffield. Students in the Lora Robins basement A-section were the primary targets of phone calls, due to their sequential phone numbering systems. Linda Rafoss, a sophomore, described the voice of the man, and explained that students keep logs of the calls and report them to the police. Hope Mull, another sophomore details her fear and annoyance at the prank caller, mentioning that the hall receives between 14 and 16 calls per night. Warren Hopkins, director of the Center for Psychological Services, suggested that the phone caller could be mentally ill. Mary Crotty, the Westhampton College assistant dean, described the form of harassment as impersonal. A variety of student reactions are described -- ranging from women thinking that the phone calls are funny, to others being "very frightened." The article concludes with suggestions to deter prank callers, and urges students to report calls to C&P Telephone Co., the campus phone provider.

"Prank calls plague Westhampton College." The University of Richmond Collegian 73, no. 22, (April 9, 1987): 6. ttps://collegian.richmond.edu/cgi-bin/richmond?a=d&d=COL19870409.2.16&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-

The Collegian, University of Richmond

1987-04-09

English

Collegian73.22.6-19870409.jpg

Richmond (Va.)