2008 Woodie Awards
Letter: It's better to give than to go Receiving
Issue date: 12/9/05 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
To the Editor:
Writing this editorial is the last thing I can think of to do in addressing the maddening disorganization of this University's Receiving Department. No amount of complaints elsewhere have worked. I hope that, if printed in The Hawk, my letter will inform someone with the power to invoke positive change in this situation.
This University's handling of student mail is a disgrace and anyone who has ever been to the mail room knows it. Every package I pick up from the receiving department has a variety of shelf numbers and mathematical scribbles on it, no doubt some desperate organizational attempt the likes of which I have never seen in any official US Post Office. There is mail thrown around all over the room waiting to be organized and piled conveniently for anyone who enters to see.
It is no wonder that, in a system so shambled and inadequate, I have had more than one valuable package misplaced or stolen. That's thirty dollars of records, a cell phone charger I desperately needed last month, and prescription medication I have lost and will never be reimbursed for. There are no words with which I can convey the rage I feel when I am blindly handed my packages without an ID check as if they are unimportant and not worthy of such a simple action as verifying they actually belong to me. To make matters worse there is a complete list of everyone who has a package in receiving on the internet FOR ANYONE TO SEE. I can just imagine the person who picked up my records and my medication saying, "Oh man, Vicky Frederick got another package, I wonder what it will be this time! Something I can sell? Something I can STEAL?"
As a sophomore, I'm forced to live on campus and pay a hell of a lot more money for this campus apartment than I might elsewhere. Real post offices take into account that my packages belong to me and should be treated with a certain degree of respect and care. I have always obeyed and respected the rules and property of this University. Shouldn't the University's post office offer the same respect to my belongings in return?
The solution to this problem is easy. Instead of taking the time to post names and locations of packages on the internet, everyone's names and e-mail addresses can be stored in a spreadsheet and confidential, automated e-mails can be sent to everyone who has received a package. There's no need for the entire student body to know about everyone's packages when it would be just as simple to keep things confidential. Everyone's student IDs should be checked before giving away packages, no matter HOW busy it is in there. Packages shouldn't be left on the loading dock or anywhere else where they could be easily taken. With a degree of organization and respect for the belongings of students, there may be hope for the receiving department yet.
There's no hope for getting my records back, though.
Victoria J. Frederick '08
Writing this editorial is the last thing I can think of to do in addressing the maddening disorganization of this University's Receiving Department. No amount of complaints elsewhere have worked. I hope that, if printed in The Hawk, my letter will inform someone with the power to invoke positive change in this situation.
This University's handling of student mail is a disgrace and anyone who has ever been to the mail room knows it. Every package I pick up from the receiving department has a variety of shelf numbers and mathematical scribbles on it, no doubt some desperate organizational attempt the likes of which I have never seen in any official US Post Office. There is mail thrown around all over the room waiting to be organized and piled conveniently for anyone who enters to see.
It is no wonder that, in a system so shambled and inadequate, I have had more than one valuable package misplaced or stolen. That's thirty dollars of records, a cell phone charger I desperately needed last month, and prescription medication I have lost and will never be reimbursed for. There are no words with which I can convey the rage I feel when I am blindly handed my packages without an ID check as if they are unimportant and not worthy of such a simple action as verifying they actually belong to me. To make matters worse there is a complete list of everyone who has a package in receiving on the internet FOR ANYONE TO SEE. I can just imagine the person who picked up my records and my medication saying, "Oh man, Vicky Frederick got another package, I wonder what it will be this time! Something I can sell? Something I can STEAL?"
As a sophomore, I'm forced to live on campus and pay a hell of a lot more money for this campus apartment than I might elsewhere. Real post offices take into account that my packages belong to me and should be treated with a certain degree of respect and care. I have always obeyed and respected the rules and property of this University. Shouldn't the University's post office offer the same respect to my belongings in return?
The solution to this problem is easy. Instead of taking the time to post names and locations of packages on the internet, everyone's names and e-mail addresses can be stored in a spreadsheet and confidential, automated e-mails can be sent to everyone who has received a package. There's no need for the entire student body to know about everyone's packages when it would be just as simple to keep things confidential. Everyone's student IDs should be checked before giving away packages, no matter HOW busy it is in there. Packages shouldn't be left on the loading dock or anywhere else where they could be easily taken. With a degree of organization and respect for the belongings of students, there may be hope for the receiving department yet.
There's no hope for getting my records back, though.
Victoria J. Frederick '08