Long lines outside of the mailroom are now a thing of the past.

Due to technical difficulties, the Saint Louis University mail services was severely behind for the first few weeks of classes, also known as the ‘peak’ mail time as students are receiving textbooks and school supplies. These issues were then reported to Dr. Mona Hicks, dean of students.

By Sept. 14, however, the management staff and Student Development were made aware of the dilemma and, by the following Monday, mail services was caught up to speed.

In an e-mail sent to students on Sept. 17, the Dean’s office reported: “Due to the recent increase in mail and packages at this time of year, as well as technical issues, we recognize that students may have experienced a delay in receiving their mail.  Please know that the Busch Student Center Student Mail Services is committed to getting mail to students in a timely manner. We are working diligently to address this issue.”

According to Blake Exline, Student Government Association president, the mail services should be up to date. Exline also noted, “[there are] still improvements to be made.”

The mail dilemma has had a grave effect on students. Sophomore Shannon Doherty waited a month before she received important packages such as medicine and her drivers’ license.

Another sophomore Katie Maslar, agreed with Exline on the need for improvement.

“I wish I could get my packages much faster.” Maslar said.

Sophomore Joseph Dubuque said he understood why the delay in mail happened, but would like to see a faster turnover time from the mailroom signing for the package to the student being notified and being able to pick up package.

“I understand the mailroom has times when a lot of packages come in at once and it takes an extra day or two for the packages to be processed, but that hasn’t been the case,” Dubuque commented. “For those of us who ordered text books or perishable goods, a wait that long is unacceptable.”

According to Exline, discussion to solve the mail room dilemma has been ongoing since last school year when the Residential Affairs Committee in SGA brought the matter to light. The RAC did research on why mail was not reaching SLU from the U.S. postal office in a timely fashion.

This past summer, Exline spent time with the management of mail services and researched the process of how mail goes from the U.S. postal office to SLU’s mail services. During this process, inefficiencies were found and progress was made in the processing procedure, but not as much as he had hoped.

“SGA will be pursuing any and all avenues to repair and advocate for a better mail system,” Exline said, “We encourage anyone and everyone to email SGA with any feedback and suggested improvements.”