Ah yes, telephony in the 1960’s!
I only vaguely remember the pay phones, but there was also a ‘regular’ phone (with a dial, of course, and in everyone’s favorite color, black) on each floor, which could receive incoming calls, and call out to campus numbers, and maybe local numbers, and maybe the operator for collect calls?
Back then, “long distance call” meant something really, really important had happened, because making such a call meant you were willing to lay out some serious cash! That refuse-the-collect-call trick was not unique to your family, Lisa, I assure you.