EDITORIAL: A Time for Action

The University should takeThe University should takeimmediate and meaningfulThe University should takeimmediate and meaningfulaction to end the campus-wideThe University should takeimmediate and meaningfulaction to end the campus-widemail problem that has existedThe University should takeimmediate and meaningfulaction to end the campus-widemail problem that has existedfor far too long.The University should takeimmediate and meaningfulaction to end the campus-widemail problem that has existedfor far too long.______________________________ Although the 30th Street Post Office has taken much of the responsibility for the damaged mail, the most recent incidents -- unattended letters and packages left in the mail room -- indicate that the University must make some improvements as well. After four years of the same poor service, it is not enough for the University to accept the problem simply because the postal service has taken responsibility. If most of the problem lies within the 30th Street Post Office, then it becomes the University's responsibility to lobby the postal system on behalf of its students. University President Judith Rodin and her administration should use the University's bargaining power to demand that the U.S. Postal Service make changes. But the problem does not solely exist outside the University walls. While it should pressure leaders to make fundamental changes, the University must address its own shortcomings as well. Students should not have to worry whether they will receive this month's check from their parents or letters from high school friends because mail room workers leave mail unattended. And parents and friends should not have to send certified mail or Federal Express simply because the mail service is inept. Over the years, students have witnessed investigations, meetings and forums led by both postal inspectors and Residential Living staff members to discuss the problem, but we have yet to see any changes. Instead we have heard a stream of lip service -- "The University's mail service is of great concern to us." We no longer want to hear discussion. We want action and changes, and will not accept any more excuses. If Residential Living thinks that adding a trailer to house packages will solve the problem, then students should see a trailer near the Quadrangle today, not tomorrow. But eventually the University will have to invest the time and funds necessary to overhaul the its own mail system. Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone wonders why so many students choose to move off campus. Maybe if the University would show that it is willing to invest in its students' quality of life on campus, more students would opt to live in University residences. The mail system is a good place to start.