Quentin [ ]
Staff Writer
The ongoing Student Center renovation has forced many departments to move locations. The College of Wooster’s Post Office relocated to Gault Schoolhouse, creating difficulties for carriers and inconveniences for students.
During the summer, it took a few months for typical carriers like Amazon or USPS to transition to dropping off packages at the right location. This fall, the new drop-off location causes deliveries to take longer to arrive, especially if they are not properly labeled.
Beyond drop-off, the new location creates challenges to manage larger shipments, since Gault Schoolhouse has no convenient spaces to store large items. “We’ve had to store larger items in a separate room, so it takes some additional time to retrieve those items,” said Clara Becker ’22, a post office employee. Separating packages has also contributed to longer wait times.
Along with the relocation, Gault Schoolhouse also lacks personal mailboxes for students. This slows down the pick-up process, as students must individually go to the counter which has led to an increased wait time.
Every item must be individually scanned and — unlike prior to the construction — cannot be placed into mailboxes, so students receive an email when they have something to pick up. “No more wasted trips looking for an item that may or may not have arrived yet,” said Post Office Manager Jen Scale. If students cannot make the trip to Gault Schoolhouse, they can designate another person to receive their materials via email.
While students now receive package notifications, trips to the Post Office are more inconvenient than before due to the new location. Gault Schoolhouse is on the far edge of campus which makes picking up packages and mail not easy. The location not only obfuscates drop-off points for carriers, but it also makes pickups arduous for students as the office is not centrally located anymore. “The walk back and forth to get materials is time consuming and long and especially hard if you get larger packages,” said Madison Ackley ’25.
The Post Office’s shortened hours as a result of moving into Gault Schoolhouse prove to also be a challenge for students and delivery services. If a package arrives after 5 p.m., it will not be processed the same day. Even if students get a notification from a carrier, it does not mean that it is ready for pick up from the Post Office. Wait times will likely continue to be high in the future, although they are expected to decrease as the volume of mail and packages decreases going forward in the semester.
The Post Office is located at:
Gault Schoolhouse
716 Beall Ave.
