News of the probable closing of the United States Post Office in the basement of the George Sherman Union raises questions of cause and effect. In an effort to rework an outstanding deficit, the USPS is closing branches all over the greater Boston area ‘- nine in total ‘- many of which are on college campuses. But while eight out of the nine actually turn in profits annually, and with the university community being one that traditionally relies heavily on mail, why is it being blacklisted?
The main reason is likely because college students are so wired ‘- instead of writing letters to grandparents, they send emails, and instead of sending out photographs from their study abroad experiences, they make Facebook albums. Closing the main post office in a small rural town would make a significant impact on the residents who rely on it, but closing the GSU post office in the middle of a large city with many surrounding post offices may have a smaller impact on the area population, especially if that population routinely seems to prefer other modes of communication.
But by that same token, almost all of the blacklisted branches exhibit yearly profits and many are on college campuses, hinting that students do in fact take advantage of the USPS’s resources. When it comes to applying for jobs and internships, submitting work to journals and other publications, mailing papers to professors and even moving in and moving out, the student community relies heavily on the option of sending hard copies. Additionally, the twice-yearly move-in and move-out marathons that occur on campus would be unfeasible without an accessible post office. Post offices, like transportation, residential facilities and retail businesses are an integral part of all working communities. BU has all of the things that make up any other average community, so why shouldn’t it have a post office?
Students living on campus can still use the Kenmore Square post office, but with an increase in patron volume, and because it’s out of the way of students living anywhere west of central campus, this option may prove to be more of an inconvenience than anything; the USPS may actually see a decrease of profits where they were trying to mitigate financial strain. To put it in terms of cause and effect, the USPS need not consider what kinds of changes will effect a relief in dangerous financial times, but rather, they should explore what causes the problems in the first place.
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