Abandoned mailbag signals delivery problems

and GREGORY THOMAS Several University students found a garbage bag containing undelivered mail last night outside the Quadrangle mailroom. And Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone said while she had not heard of the incident yet, her office has received approximately 200 complaints about missing mail since September. The complaints follow an investigation last year which determined that the University was not responsible for the more than 350 incidences of late or lost mail reported last spring. University Police was called at about 7:45 p.m. yesterday by a Quad student, and immediately dispatched an officer to the scene. Sergeant Joseph Risoli said the garbage bag contained trash and "definitely undelivered" mail. He said the contents of the bag were brought back to University Police headquarters and separated. The case has been handed over to University Police detectives for investigation. College sophomore Richard Adler, one of the students who found the bag, said he and his friends decided to check its contents when one of them joked, "I wonder if that's our mail in there." "Then I opened the bag and there was garbage and a lot of unopened mail, so I pulled out a random envelope," Adler said. The envelope belonged to Nursing freshman Shari Glubo, who said she had never seen it before. Glubo said the letter -- a sweepstakes notice from Publisher's Clearing House -- had to be returned today in order to meet the contest deadline. The letter was dated December 15, 1993, she added. College freshman Heather Jones said she has filed many unanswered complaints with Residential Living about mail problems in the Quad. "I've called 573-DORM many times, and basically the only thing they do is take my name and what I'm missing and say they'll look into it and get back to me," Jones said. "I've never gotten any feedback from Residential Living." Jones said two $100 checks from her father have been lost in the mail, and she is still waiting for a third one. One of the checks "mysteriously" ended up back at her father's bank uncashed, Jones said. College sophomore Tabitha Callaway said last night she is missing mail "from all over the country." She added that upon filing a complaint, she was told the University was not at fault for the mail problems. "[They] determined that it had absolutely nothing to do with the University and that it was obviously happening at the 30th Street Post Office," Callaway said. But College sophomore Francine Samuels, who like Callaway was told that the problems originated outside the University, now has doubts about that claim. "They always claim that it's the Philadelphia Post Office, but when I saw the bag tonight, I questioned why they don't consider that the problem could be from within the University," she said. Simeone said she has been working with University Police and postal inspectors to investigate the plethora of complaints she has received this year. She added that the Quad mailroom contains two video cameras -- one inside the mailroom and one outside -- and that "certainly there would be tapes available" to assist in the investigation. Last year, students complained about everything from missing packages of clothing to failing to receive hundreds of dollars in cash. Following those complaints, Residential Living installed glass windows in mail sorting rooms across the University, and cameras in selected locations. University officials also wrote to parents warning them of potential mail difficulties. Tired of waiting for Residential Living to respond to their complaints, several students said last night they are turning to other sources for mail delivery. College freshman Christine Caralis said last night she bought a post office box in Houston Hall for only $28 a semester after several checks from her mother did not arrive. And students agree that they are still unhappy with the performance of the mail service at the University. "They claim they've done a lot, yet I've seen no improvement," said Samuels. "In fact, [the conditions] may be worsening."