Starting within the next week, students may experience shorter wait times and more efficient service at the Mail Center, thanks to its nearly completed addition and extended hours.

The Mail Center has been bustling with the usual beginning-of-the-semester busyness that its staff handles every school year. A line out the door consisted of students rummaging through their bags for their student IDs and scrolling through their email inboxes to find the message that informed them of the type of package waiting for them.

Of course, the Mail Center is no stranger to long lines.

“It’s always packed here at the start of every school year and when people come back from vacation,” said junior Austin Smith, who has been working in the Mail Center ever since he was a freshman.

Jerry Caracciolo, the Mail and Copy Center manager, is very much looking forward to when the construction will be completed.

“My staff and I are excited to finally get something more efficient that we can work out of, and we’re hoping the students will feel the same way because we’ll be able to serve them better,” Caracciolo said.

With the addition, there will be more room for the Mail Center staff to process packages, as they currently have no room to properly store packages.

“The plan is to make everything flow easily and to make the process more efficient,” Caracciolo explained.

While giving a tour of the building, Caracciolo shared a detailed vision for the Mail Center, showing that the staff has thought extensively about what the extra space will be used for. Shelves holding packages specific to departments on campus will line the walls; envelopes, books, and boxes will be separated from one another; and there will be another loading entrance for trucks so that multiple couriers can unload packages at the same time.

Beginning on Monday, Sept. 11, the Mail Center will be extending its hours to 7 p.m. in hopes that the increased hours will accommodate more students who might not be able to get to the Center before 4 p.m., the current closing time. These extended hours will work better for some of the Mail Center’s student employees, like Smith, whose busy schedule has him preferring later work hours.

Junior Jamie Lesley is relieved to hear that the Mail Center will be open at later hours.

“I’m usually not done with classes or work until 5 p.m., so having the extra couple of hours will help me pick up packages on the same day I get the email notification,” he said.

Many students foresee these renovations as a major improvement for the Center.

“I think that students will like it more. We’ll have a longer wait line area so people won’t be crammed into one small room,” said Smith, referring to the outdoor overhang area that will run along the side of the Mail Center facing the gym.

“I think it’ll be a better atmosphere. I’m excited for the change,” he added.

Sophomore Dahlia Osorio echoed Smith’s sentiments, explaining that although the Mail Center workers themselves weren’t disorganized, she could sometimes see past the counter to the package storing area; it always seemed a bit cluttered, as there simply wasn’t enough space.

“I think [the renovations] will help keep the mail organized and help students get their mail a little bit faster,” Osorio said. “There are more students this year, which will make the Mail Center even more cluttered. These renovations are definitely going to benefit students.”

The anticipated date of completion for the construction is Sept. 8, but with construction often reliant on a number of unforeseeable complications, it could end up being slightly delayed.