The decision by Mail Services officials to centralize package distribution is bad news for students living on campus. The process of getting packages from point A to point B will now definitely take longer and students can expect an extra hassle that will squeeze their already full schedules.

The location at 2025 F Street, near the southern border of campus, means a long and time consuming journey for students living as far away as the Aston, Hall on Virginia Avenue or Pennsylvania House who must now carry packages in excess of five blocks.

Under the old procedure, packages would arrive via UPS, Federal Express or the U.S. Postal Service at the residence halls where student workers would sort them and students would get a notification letter in their mailbox minutes later. All students would have to do is check their mailbox and walk over to the hall office a few feet away and obtain their package.

Now the packages will be delivered to and sorted at 2025 F St., and students might not receive notification for up to 24 hours after that by e-mail or a slip in their mailbox. Then they will have to schedule time to make an extra trip to F Street and carry or push the package home, a process many students will probably not be able to make time for until well into their seven-day allotment.

And while seven days may seem like enough time for students to pick up a package, there are doubtlessly situations where a student can be out of town for a week without checking e-mail and miss a delivery.

Although this decision seems to be made with the best interest of student safety in mind, it is a little overly cautious and the benefits do not outweigh the costs for students. There has yet to be an incident where a student worker’s health has been seriously harmed by sorting packages. And if this is the only concern, why can’t Pitney Bowes employees be stationed in the residence halls to sort the packages there?

The bottom line is that this is a new hassle for students and the prospect of receiving a package from home is not nearly as exciting as before.