Beautiful, shiny, and new!

Stonehenge. The Bermuda Triangle. The Berenstain Bears. While some of those greatest mysteries in the world have still been unsolved by humankind, the new and improved Columbia Student Mail Center, which moved into the space of Wien Hall this year, is not one of them. Bwog talked with Mike Pagan, Executive Director of Administrative Services (Columbia Mail, Print, and Transportation), to get some answers to our questions, and here’s what we found out:

1. If you need to pick up an urgent item such as important documents or prescription medication after the Mail Center closes, you’re in luck: Student Mail “just launched after-hour lockers for access to packages and mail when the Student Mail Center is closed.” All you need to do is reply to your email notification when your package has arrived, before 3 p.m. on the day you want to pick it up.
2. This year’s rush period was “very successful” for Student Mail, according to Pagan. Student move-in days are actually not the busiest time for the Student Mail Center, which in fact classifies the period of late August to September as a rush period. Pagan said that during this year’s rush period, “almost 39,000 packages were distributed, with pickup wait times below 2 minutes.” In comparison to last year, this was a 13% increase in package distribution!
3. You weren’t hallucinating when you thought that the check-in kiosks changed locations. During rush season every year, students access the Mail Center via Morningside Heights drive, which “helps minimize traffic congestion in and out of the Wien Lobby” and facilitates transport of larger-sized packages such as mini-fridges and TVs. After rush period ends, students enter the mail Center through Wien for the rest of the year.
4. The move to Wien was important for a number of reasons, the most important being the sheer increase over the years in the volume of packages shipped. The Wien Mail Center is 2,765 square feet, more than double the 1,200 square feet space of the old Lerner Hall package center, and thus accommodates this upward trend.
5. Some other great changes have occurred as a result of the move: Students can now use some of the valuable space that Student Mail freed up. In addition, Wien allows both mail and package servie teams “work together in one location, improving productivity.” Pagan also cites the new location is as “better positioned to the delivery access point on Morningside Drive.”
6. What might you see in the future of the Mail Center? This is one question we can’t quite answer. However, as he believes that the uptick in mailing volume will continue, Pagan said, “[The Mail Center team] will continue to evaluate needs and look for tech or operational enhancements to our service.”

Picture via Columbia Mail Services