The Virginia Informer

Going Postal?

   Students find long lines when picking up packages

By Benjamin Locher, Staff Writer

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          So much for door to door delivery.

          Students can no longer receive packages from carriers like FedEx or UPS at their dorms. Instead, all packages must be delivered to the Post Office in the University Center and picked up. Though it has caused longer lines at the package pick-up window, students no longer have to worry about not being in their dorms when their packages arrive.

          “There were a lot of problems where the carriers would try to deliver to the dorms and no one would be there,” Director of Postal Services Richard Sears said. “They will try to deliver [a package] two or three times and then they will return the package to the sender.”

          Students waiting in line seemed to react well to the new system.

          “I did not even know they started accepting packages here,” Senior Francis Beringer said. “That’s really good though. When I was a sophomore living in Ludwell it took me like 3 or 4 weeks to get a package because I was never home for them to deliver it.”

          For the last couple of years, Sears has been talking with the Student Affairs and Residence Life departments about fixing this problem, and ultimately decided to make the change this year.

          “Yes, it has made the lines a little bit longer this year,” Sears said, “but we think we are doing pretty well getting the packages out.”

          Freshman Anna Hayden had no problems with the lines.

          “It was busier at the beginning of the year, but it’s getting better,” she said. “[The Post Office] is right in the center of campus and I pass through it all the time, so it is no big deal to wait a few minutes.”

          To speed up distribution, Postal Services has implemented an automated computer system that tags each package with a tracking number. The system is useful, especially with the increased load.

          From September 16th through 24th, the Postal Service received an average 433 packages/day. On average only 123 of those packages were U.S. mail packages. However, since the beginning of the year, the load has begun to trickle off. For instance, on Tuesday, September 27th, only 64 packages total were delivered.

          “At the beginning of the year, students get a lot more packages,” Sears said. “They realize they forgot this or that and need it sent, or their parents send them care packages. Much of the traffic is also from Amazon when students order their books.”

          Sears encourages students to order their books early in the summer instead of waiting until school begins. To save time, he also recommends coming to pick up packages between 8 am and 11 am or between 2 pm and 5 pm.

          “That’s the nature of a College,” Sears said. “Students tend to all follow the same schedule. They have classes in the morning or they sleep in, and they all come here around lunch time. It’s the same everywhere. Between 11 and 2 there are lines at the dining halls, and the mailbox, and all over campus.”

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