Mailroom Rules Change

This past fall, the Olivet College mailroom began requiring students to show their ID while picking up packages. This may seem like a new policy for many current Olivet students, but in reality, it’s an old policy being reinstated.

“A lot of them were policies that were in place three years ago,” said Heather VanDeMoortel, the college’s store and mailroom supervisor. “Due to COVID we had to adjust them, but we’re putting them back in place this year.”

VanDeMoortel came to Olivet last year. At the time, students weren’t required to show their IDs to the mailroom staff, they just had to give them their name.

“I went and read the [Olivet College Student Handbook], and basically we do require them to check the IDs, especially with the way COVID changed mail,” she said. “Putting that back in place is basically for the security of the student and the departments.”

Showing ID to pick up mail isn’t unique to Olivet either.

“If you go to a regular post office you have to show ID to pick up anything. I mean, it’s basically federal mail you’re dealing with,” said VanDeMoortel.

Charlie Wilks, a freshman at Olivet, might be new to the school, but that doesn’t mean the policy change hasn’t impacted him as well. “Whenever I’m coming here I gotta make sure I have my ID so I can’t lose it,” he said.

Cassidy Stormzand, a sophomore, has worked in the mailroom since the beginning of this semester. “It makes things a lot easier. It’s harder to type in people’s numbers and it’s confirmation so you can see who’s picking it up,” she said.

Still, because this is a change for many students, there have been a few hiccups along the way. “It’s kind of a hassle if someone forgets their ID,” Stormzand said. “You can’t have other people pick up other people’s packages.”

The mailroom is located in the basement of the KC and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. Students will receive an email when a package arrives for them.

“It’s easier if you wait until you get an email from the store, because normally when you get a confirmation from like Amazon and such, it still takes us a while to scan in all the packages since we have multiple people bring them in at multiple different times in the day,” Stormzand said.

Courtesy Image