Do you have a slip? No. Did you get an e-mail? No. No package for you! The "Seinfeld"-esque Package Nazi at Frist has once again foiled my attempts at correspondence with the outside world. Needless to say, he is only one man with a Herculean task, but my day's frustrations bring to mind the many easily rectified problems with the new mailing system.
1) Speed of delivery. The main complaint with the old system was its slow distribution. Under this "new and improved" system, my dad mailed my bank statement last week from my home (a mere two-hour drive away) and still no luck. I can live without balancing my checkbook, but I tremble to think of any mail with real deadlines or dated materials.
2) Misdirection. I have had only four exciting "You've Got (Real) Mail" experiences this year. Sadly, three of those four were not actually for me. Instead they had been placed in the wrong mailbox. Disappointment combined with frustration that there is no slot or box for redirecting lost mail. I dropped the letters back into the campus mailbox, no doubt delaying their arrival to the respective recipients by another week (sorry). I returned the misplaced package slip to the aforementioned Package Nazi, which, I was informed, was not the right thing to do (sorry again).
3) Ah, the packages. The notification letter from the University told us to have big packages addressed to our rooms rather than to the boxes, forcing the package man to look through his directory and figure out our box numbers, so he can then write them on the packages himself and put the notices in the right boxes. A brilliant system, no? When you finally have the required slip in your eager little hands, you can join the invariably long line at the window. What about that package you know was sent two weeks ago but you have still not been notified about? The package man will direct your attention to the six large bins overflowing with packages waiting to be sorted and numbered. He will also inform you that the reason he can't sort and distribute those boxes is because he has to stand there at that little window and talk to students like you. I don't blame him: It is truly a huge and tedious job that should not be on the shoulders of one man. I volunteer. I will sort and address packages. I need a job anyway. Call me. Please. For the sake of all the package-less students on campus.
It really will be nice to have the same address for two years, but only if we can trust that we will actually receive the correspondences we eagerly await. If not, each pilgrimage to the new mail Mecca at Frist is pointless. Maybe with a little help and more mailroom organization, the Package Nazi could lose his title and I could finally balance my poor checkbook. Liza Davies is a Wilson School major from East Norwalk, Conn. She can be reached at endavies@princeton.edu.
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