It frustrated me to read the complaints about mail services in the past few editions of The Hatchet (“Mail woes continue,” Oct. 14, p. 4). I have a mailbox outside the University, not so that I can avoid the problems of not getting mail sent to me through the University, but so that I do not have to change my address every time I move. While I will admit that the University mail service is not perfect, and that in the past I have had negative experiences with receiving mail through my campus address, I don’t think we can blame GW Mail Services for everything.

Even with my personal mailbox through Mailboxes Etc, an off campus, non-University business, I have had mail take weeks to arrive and sometimes the mail is even lost. I think the larger issue falls with the United States Postal Service and their ability to adapt to the loss of the Brentwood mail facility. I have sent mail to places where my mail has been sent from, and it takes much less time for my letters to be received than for me to receive them. I have lost airline tickets, books for classes, birthday cards, magazines and checks in the mail through USPS at my personal mailbox.

I am sure the Mail Services is open to suggestions. With all new programs there are kinks to be worked out. The University has made an effort to address student concerns with the previous mail protocol, and now students are quick to point the finger at this new effort. Ultimately, I am not convinced that the misdirected mail and lost mail is a responsibility of the University. In the future, I think students should take a step back and put themselves in the other person’s shoes.

-Rebecca Hunter
junior