Congress lends ear to Penn State frat mail troubles
 

Oct. 27, 2005

Congress lends ear to frat mail troubles

Post office balks at forwarding to Penn State Greek brothers
By Adam Smeltz
asmeltz@centredaily.com


STATE COLLEGE -- Fraternity complaints against the State College post office are getting an ear on Capitol Hill.

A spokesman for the House Committee on Government Reform, which oversees the U.S. Postal Service, confirmed this week that committee workers are reviewing the grievances. U.S. Rep. John Peterson's staff also opened an official case on the matter, Peterson spokesman Chris Tucker said.

Penn State's Interfraternity Council reported last month that the State College post office denies mail-forwarding service to fraternity brothers. The practice smacks of second-class treatment, fraternity leaders said, because no other local classification of college students is denied the service.

The Postal Service normally provides the forwarding service to any resident for as long as a year after his or her address changes.

But the post office in State College classifies fraternities as businesses, not residences, according to a local postal official.

Postal rules prohibit the forwarding of mail from a business to individuals.

IFC President Brian Bertges confirmed Wednesday that the government reform committee, a branch of the U.S. House of Representatives, has contacted him for information.

Bertges said previously that mail arriving for recent fraternity alumni can put active brothers in a difficult position. "If we throw it away, we're violating federal law," he said. "We're either forced to hold onto the mail or break the law."

About 10 percent to 12 percent of University Park's 40,000 students are active in the Greek community, including more than 50 fraternity chapters.

Postal workers have said that the constant flow of new and departing residents in a college town can create a huge burden on the mail-delivery system. It puts the State College office in a uniquely stressed situation, they've said.

Tucker, the Peterson spokesman, said staff at the government reform committee has heard similar concerns elsewhere. The committee spokesman declined to confirm that, saying the information available to him was too vague to judge.

The Centre Daily Times did spot checks of several fraternity councils at universities in other states, and failed to find evidence of similar postal practices.

congress will not figure this out, I don't think.


Just forward the mail to the chapter house, and then anyone who move who is brother or sister can just stop by and pick it up, its really quite simple, in my view, at least.

Unless of course you no longer live in the city, let alone the state. If I were put in this situation, it would be quite some time before I was able to get back to the town of my undergraduate school. Some of us have family and work that doesn't give us the time to head on over to our fraternity house that may not even be in the same state as I currently reside.

If the other students can have their mail forwarded. And regular citizens can have their mail forwarded, then why can't some guys who used to live together in a fraternity house get their mail forwarded. It doesn't need congressional intervention to get this rectified. The postal service should do its job.

At least in Berkeley, this applies to sorority houses too. It's a nightmare when you have 65 people living in a house and then the ones who graduate cannot provide a forwarding address to receive their mail.

We forward, by hand, girl's mail for the first year (we can only forward first class though). After that, we no longer agree to supply it. We have mail coming to the house for women who graduated from Cal in the mid-90's!

Near the end of their last year, ever senior (or last year member), should fill out a postal 'Change of address' card/form.

More important for the chapter, a contact information card should be completed and filed with the chapter. The card should include at least the following contact information.

Note: Some of this information may not be applicable and/or duplicate.

Summer only job/traveling after graduation:
Starting (date) - Ending (date)
Summer Address:
Summer Phone Number:

Graduate school/Home residency
Starting (date)
Address:
Phone Number:

Other contact:
Parents/other family Address:
Parents/other family Phone:

Work contact:
Starting (date)
Work Address:
Work Phone:

Cell Phone Number:

Personal E-mail Address:
(If member currently has a campus address that will be deactivated at end of the term, then help the member set up a Yahoo or Hotmail etc. account before they graduate.)


The card could then be filed with the secretary or whomever would be responsible for alumni contact information. When ever the chapter needs to forward mail or contact their alumni, the information is at their finger tips. And of course more information could be included on the card as needed.

That doesn't solve the basic problem.

Even if they fill out a coa card, the post office in SC says they are a business and will not forward their mail. Therefore the fraternity has to do it at their expense - which they should not have to do.

How are they classifying an individual's mail as a business?

If the piece of mail says only the individual's name (Fred Fraternity) without mentioning the fraternity's name, there's no indication that is a piece of business mail. Sure, he may live in the fraternity house, but it's personal mail, not business mail.

However, if the piece of mail has the fraternity name on it, then I could see how that can be considered business mail.

Maybe the question is: How exactly is the mail handled for these residents? Do they not get their individual mail through a PO Box on campus?

PsychTau

For the DG house at Berkeley we have stopped bothering with the change of address cards. The post office just sends the mail to us anyway and puts a note about not forwarding from a fraternity or sorority. I know if our case they are going strictly off our address and don't really care to whom the mail is addressed.

One of my friends moved and had her mail forwarded to her parent's office (they are doctors with a private practice) and she had a hell of a time getting it forwarded to her new condo when she finally got settled.

And no, I don't know why she didn't just have it sent to her parents' home or her temporary address...

ETA: is this a new law? I never had this problem when living in the sorority house, and when we closed for the summer, and I had to sublet an apt, I never had trouble forwarding... nor was it a problem when I graduated...

If this is a wide spread problem, I'd try this:

Print out a label with each person's new address.

Paste the label over the incorrect one on the envelope. Use a blank label to cover any remaining part which the label doesn't cover.

Drop the re-labeled pieces into a blue streetside mail collection box.

I think the PO will deliver the piece to the new address. What else are they going to do with it?

It's worth a try.

No, this is the State College Post Office being assy.

We do hand forward any first class mail, but it takes a lot of time! That's why after the first year you move out our generosity expires.

I'm not sure if it is a regional thing. If so, I would be interested to know if the City of Berkeley is the one determining this. On the other hand, I never got the sense that post offices have that much autonomy.

Yes, There are Time Limits for this type of Posting!


BUTT, to tell someone That They Cannot Have Mail Forwarded to Them With A Duly Filled Out Form? NASA, Houston, We Have a Friggen Problem! OOOH, it is to Much Trouble!

Sorry, Screw Them! I call BS!


While The USPS is a supposedly Seperate entity, They are still under the Mandate of The Federal Govt and Expected to do their dutys!

In Gainesville, the Post Office will not forward any mail for ANY campus address. Fraternity, Sorority, Dorm, anything with a campus address.

My solution was to have a brother I trust collect my mail for me and I have him mail it to me every month or so.

Because the USPS sucks.

At $.37 each they still cant 'afford' to do their jobs.

I have long advocated the privitization of the USPS, or at least let UPS or FedEX get into the business of first class mail. The mailbox at your house is provately owned by you (but regulated by the USPS). Change the law and allow other parties to mail stuff and have it coem to yoru mailbox. If the govmt cant afford to efficiently handle the business of mail, then it shouldnt be in the business of it.

Id be interested to see how postal service rate increases match up with the cost of inflation over the last 20 years or so.