What’s Going on at McMahon Hall?
Courtesy of Pixabay
By Felipe D. Avila
What do Disneyland, SeaWorld, and McMahon Hall have in common? Hour-long lines.
McMahon Hall has seen a recent surge in packages, prompting long lines. Students commonly report waiting over an hour before reaching the front of the line. The mail room lines resemble those of a popular amusement park. The downside? Students do not get to ride a rollercoaster.
Students report that at best, only a few of their packages have been processed. At worst, students wait in line for an hour only to be told their items are not ready. The introduction of the new freshman class to campus has brought hundreds, if not thousands, of mail orders to the university.
Students have been quick to propose solutions, but many feel that their suggestions have fallen on deaf ears. Ricoh, the mail services provider for the university, cites on its website that, “Every campus needs effective strategies for delivering mail and packages to faculty, staff and students. However, campus mail and student mail often operate on separate systems, leading to inefficient processes…” Critics of the student mailroom argue that the current package retrieval process is inadequate.
Students answered the following question: “If you could deliver a message to someone with the power to reduce wait times, what would it be?” Sophomore theology major and former SGA senator Andrea Suarez stated, “I would probably talk to President Kilpatrick and see what alternatives there could be. He has the power to make change.”
Students also reflected on how long lines in the mail room have impacted their schedules.
“It just takes up more of my free time,” said freshman biology major Clark Hager.
“It was like an hour and twenty-minute wait for them not to have all of my packages,” said freshman theology major Nathan Churchill.
“It took out lunch and time to study,” said freshman world politics major Sebastian Fernandez.
When students waiting in the long, U-shaped line shared their testimony, most described feeling frustrated and upset.
“I skipped class because the line was an hour long. I tried it [waiting in line] three days in a row and I kept leaving,” said sophomore criminology major Matt Kenedy.
Judi Garbuio, the Vice President of Student Affairs provided a statement that said, in part, “For the immediate need, we have increased our labor during the first three weeks of the semester and extended our hours to aid in the distribution of the mail and packages. We will also shift some more attention to this area over the next few days.”
“The long-term solution is a more efficient Mailroom,” Garbuio explained. “This project is in the design phase and the Mailroom will be located on the ground floor of the Pryzbyla Center and will include a locker system which will aid in the distribution of packages and reduce the wait time for students.”
The question that now remains for these students is: how long until students see change?
