The dropbox was removed and has been gone for over two months. Photo courtesy of WCPO.
ERIKA KOVACH | STAFF REPORTER | ekovach@butler.edu
The blue postal mail drop box — located on the north side of Jordan Hall and one of the only on-campus locations where students on campus can send outgoing mail and packages—has been gone for over a month. Students were notified by an email in mid-December of these changes through Butler Today that stated the mailbox was removed by the United States Postal Service (USPS) due to a damaged door.
According to the email, campus authorities are working with USPS to get the box back on campus as soon as possible. In the meantime, letter mail should be dropped off at the Mail Center located in Room 052 of the Holcomb Building.
An end is likely in sight — Chris Davis, the Director of Print, Copy and Mail Services, said he recently received notification that due to a lack of availability of parts to fix the broken door, a new box has been ordered.
“The expected date for the new box is unknown at this time, but we are working with the United States Postal Service to resolve this issue as soon as possible,” Davis said.
However, some students were unaware of these changes and faced issues while searching for a reliable way to send mail.
Lorelei Gunther, a first-year middle secondary English education major, said that she first realized the mailbox was gone when going to mail something to a friend.
“I had to put my mail in the ‘outgoing mail’ slot in my dorm building,” Gunther said. “I wanted to avoid this option though because people that I have known that have done the same did not have their mail delivered until three weeks after they put it in this slot.”
Senior English major Morgan Mead said she was also confused by the removal and felt that it was still important to have the option to mail something on campus, something often overlooked with the popularity and ease of communicating online.
Since many students on campus might not have cars or reliable transportation, students note the significance of having an accessible mailbox on campus.
“I was a mail-in voter for the 2024 election cycle, and I utilized the Butler USPS mailbox,” Mead said. “This was a common occurrence for a large majority of my friends. Not having an easily accessible mailbox on campus might lead to [future] votes being suppressed.”
Alternative options and information on mailing can be found online at Campus Impressions.
