Mailbox assignments: A rocky start

Melanie Todd, Staff writer

This year, like any other, we scour the internet for the cheapest prices possible for the long lists of textbooks that we need to buy. While students are on the prowl for the best deals, the mailroom staff prepares for a battle of their own.

This year for Mercyhurst students, there was a surprise when they returned to campus! New mailbox assignments!

All the mail that was sent right before students got back to campus, in hopes that it will arrive before assignment due dates, will have to be sorted and resorted to be put in the correct mailbox. Luckily, packages are sorted

primarily by name so there is a better chance your package will not be delayed.

The big question remains why? Even the Ricoh staff had a difficult time answering this question. “The university wanted to start with a clean slate,” Jason Geeling, Ricoh director, said.

The contractor will run numerous statistics regarding the Mercyhurst’s mail compared to its other universities. “Many universities have discarded individual student mailboxes. Students pick up regular letters and mail as they would a package,” Geeling said.

Many students leave behind mail at the end of the year. This could be because they did not expect to get mail, or forgot about it. It seems very convenient to have an email to notify students about all mail. However, then we will not have an excuse as to why some of our phone bills may be a tad late.

The main concern for us students will be the lines to get mail. With this year’s record breaking freshman class we have even longer wait times. However, there will be less sorting for the Ricoh staff. Therefore, they would have the opportunity to move the mail more efficiently.

This year five times the amount of mail has gone through the Mercyhurst mailroom compared to the statistics from this time last year, according to Geeling. Whether it is more online shopping, shipping dorm items rather than traveling with them, textbooks or a mix of several is unknown.