Students are having problems receiving letters and packages from both the mailroom and the South Orange Post Office this fall.
According to a supervisor from the South Orange Post Office any problems students have had with receiving mail or having packages tampered with is not the fault of the South Orange Post Office.
The supervisor spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid offending employees of the Seton Hall mailroom.
"Clerks here don't even look through the Seton Hall tray. They just place the tray in a hamper and it gets routed to the school's mailroom where it will then be sorted. We do not sort Seton Hall's mail," he said.
The supervisor also expressed concern over the SHU mailroom's mostly-student staff.
"I think the reason for the problem is that the mailroom is not properly supervised," he said. "It should be properly staffed; everyone should be like they are in a post office. There should be someone in uniform so you know who is who."
Mailroom Manager Peter Trunk said that there is an ongoing investigation with the State of New Jersey but due to the sensitivity of the issue, was unable to comment further.
Mailroom problems have been occuring since last year.
"Last year, when I lived on campus, I never received birthday cards and other mail from my family," junior Katie Moore, who now lives in an apartment off-campus said. "For some reason, they never made it to me and I know they were sent. I know students who still live on campus and are still having problems with their mail so it has not improved since last year."
Moore also said that she continues to have issues off-campus.
"In my apartment, it always seems like our mail is getting stolen," she said. "We called the South Orange Post Office and they weren't helpful."
According to Moore, whenever a complaint was filed, the South Orange Post Office said it was the fault of Seton Hall and employees of the Seton Hall mailroom put the blame on the post office.
The supervisor said that students who live in off-campus housing such as Turrell and Ora Manors must be sure to get their mail addressed properly.
"Students who live in off-campus apartments under the school's jurisdiction should get their mail routed to the school. It can't go to Turrell, for example, it is not a valid address," he said.
He also said that students who live in apartment buildings in town get the mail sorted in the same way as other South Orange residents.
He said that if students want to ensure nothing valuable like a check gets stolen, the best thing to do is have it certified so that someone has to sign for it upon delivery.
The supervisor also cautioned against sending anything monetary in the mail.
"You should try not to send money through the mail," he said. "If (a parent) wants to send a check, make sure you don't just send it through the mail. If you do and a machine rips it up or it gets damaged there is no way for anyone to trace it."
"It's very disheartening that I don't feel comfortable getting mail sent to a place that I consider home," Moore said.
Alyana Alfaro can be reached at alyana.alfaro@student.shu.edu.
