Bags of Mail Not Forwarded

A communications snafu between the Facilities Maintenance office and dorm crew has left former residents of Cabot and North Houses without much of their summer mail.

Since mid-September, 12 bags of mail intended for summer school students, tutors who have left the University and students who graduated last spring have been sitting--unsorted and unforwarded--in Currier House.

David W. Widing, an associate of the custodial services department, said he had believed a dorm crew student working in the Currier mail room--where all Quad mail is first sent--would make sure mail for all three houses was properly forwarded.

However, Jesse D. Bolton '93, the dorm crew worker, said he had thought he was supposed to forward mail only for Currier House. He said he was never told to forward mail for Cabot and North, as well.

"No one was particularly clear on what was supposed to be happening," Bolton said. "There wasn't the necessary sharing of information that needed to occur."

As a result, Widing said the mail simply piled up until a house official discovered the problem about a week ago.

"When I saw this, I was just flabbergasted," said Widing.

Widing said the problem was due, in part, to the fact that dorm crew workers are students, who cannot assume all of the responsibilities of professional mail carriers.

"Whenever you use students for mail at a time when students' interests are more involved in studies, there is a mail problem," Widing said. "It was suggested that University mail should take over that service if necessary."

Widing added that "there was a change in personnel and there was a missing link in communication"--both of which may have contributed to the problem.

Since Widing learned of the problem, dorm crew has been sending extra workers to the mail room to expedite the forwarding process, according to dorm crew captain Josh E. Dieterich '93.

"We have been sending `crash crew' workers up there," said Dieterich.

To prevent future mishaps, Widing said he is "putting on paper the complete system and defining exactly what needs to be done and how it's done, to ensure that this never happens again."

"Hopefully this is an interim period to University mail taking over this service," he said. "It was done. It was a disaster and it's behind us."