Quad mail finally gets stamp of approval

Residential Living officials and Quadrangle residents said mail distribution in the dorm -- which has been severely behind schedule since September -- is now almost completely caught up, after three more workers joined the mailroom staff. South Campus officials decided to trim expenses this year by requiring the individual Quad houses to provide and pay students to sort mail for their house. But although the houses did not object to paying students, they said they could not find anyone willing to work in the first place. In previous years, the South Campus office hired all the mailroom workers. Students and mailroom workers reported that letters were piling up in bins and people were not receiving intramural mail because of a lack of workers. South Campus Director Tomas Leal said this week that after meetings with students and other Residential Living officials, his office hired three more workers, gave workers keys to the sorting rooms so they can sort after office hours, and will continue to examine ways to improve the methods of sorting mail. Although some misaddressed mail has not been distributed yet, residents and officials said they think the main problems of switching to a new system of mail distribution have been resolved. Leal added that the office reallocated its funds to pay the additional workers. Now, a total of 12 people sort mail. The system will remain in place for the rest of the academic year. Leal said his office will evaluate its effectiveness in the spring and will plan accordingly. Leal said he appreciated meeting with students who gave "constructive feedback" on the flaws of the mail distribution system. He met with Undergraduate Assembly representative Ethan Youderian and a few other students to discuss the system's problems earlier this month. Youderian said last night that he is "very satisfied" with the steps South Campus has taken, adding that administrators were "definitely very receptive and sympathetic" to students' complaints. The Wharton freshman added that he believes mail distribution will work well now, saying that he is "not concerned about how it is sorted, just that it is sorted and gets to people on time." Quadrangle Resident Advisor Evan Melrose said last night that although he and students on his floor have noticed improvements in the mail distribution, he is still concerned that misaddressed mail is not completely sorted. The College junior said students did not receive bursar bills on time and that some were charged penalties. He added that some upperclass students missed interviews because they did not receive mailed notifications until after the meeting was to have taken place.

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