Students get packages mailed to campus year round, whether it is shopping online or receiving gifts from friends and family.
Students are notified with either a blue slip from the post office or a pink slip from Residential Life.
The slips are often the source of difficulty for students when trying to claim their packages, according to Joe Porter, Loyola post office manager.
“The policy is that the blue slip is necessary to receive a package, which is emulated by the United States post office policies on receiving packages,” Porter said. “Even though we’re on a university campus, we still have to uphold the rules of the United States Postal Service.”
According to Amy Boyle Associate Director of Residential Life and Buddig package room supervisor, the rules are slightly different for the package room.
“We will give students their packages if they don’t have their pink slips if they show their student ID,” Boyle said.
Some of the problems with packages arise from labeling errors when the package doesn’t have a student’s name or the correct residential hall address.
“Students often come looking for their package, but it’s not found because it wasn’t sent under their name,” Boyle said. “Whoever sends the students a package must list the student under the recipient information because we can’t guess who the recipient is.”
Winter and summer breaks can also make it difficult for students to receive packages. Boyle said the university calls students to let them know their packages have been received and forwards them if necessary.
The post office can also forward packages. “All U.S. Post Service mail is kept in the post office unless written permission is received from that student. This can be done through an e-mail,” Porter said. “Otherwise, we have to hold it until they come pick it up. Over winter break we just hold them until they come pick them up.”
Boyle acknowledged that there is always room for mix-ups. In these cases, both Boyle and Porter encourage students to get help with their packaging issues.
“One of the main issues that we have is that sometimes there’s a gap between when a student may receive their electronic notice of shipping from either UPS or FedEx and the time they are told they are ready here,” Boyle said.
However, in the event that a package is lost, Boyle said she asks the student to e-mail their confirmation to the Package Room which will show who signed for the package. “With this we know that it had been accepted into our hands. We look for it. If there was something done wrong on our behalf then we try to make it up by either looking high and low and find the package or replacing the item,” she said.
Similarly, the post office takes steps to see where a package is. Porter said he will take the tracking number to see where it is in the process of delivery. “Sometimes mail gets mis-delivered. Sometimes the parcel ends up at Tulane and has to be re-sent here. It happens. Eventually, it does get here,” Porter said. “If a person wants added security, they can insure their mail and the Postal Service reimburses the person of their loss.”
Even so, Boyle and Porter said they are open to suggestions on how to make the system operate more efficiently.
Kristen Francis can be reached at
