USU students can go postal without having to go off campus
Students at Utah State University don’t have to go across Logan to mail packages and letters. There’s a post office on campus.
The post office is located on the first level of the Taggart Student Center, and some students don’t know it’s there.
“A lot of people don’t realize that we’re here,” Kevin Johnson, a clerk in the TSC post office, said. “Most people only know about us if they walk past.”
Alina Partner, a freshman majoring in psychology, said, “I’ve seen it [the post office] before, but I’ve never used it.”
Johnson said the number one question people ask the post office is, “Do you sell stamps?” Johnson said, yes, they do. Not only are stamps sold, but the office provides full postal services, express mail, and package mail, he said. They also carry envelopes as well as some packaging materials. The post office accepts cash, checks and credit cards.
A lot of post offices in Cache County don’t offer Express Mail (next day delivery), but the TSC post office does, Johnson said. They also provide Priority Mail service.
The post office is open from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“I used [the post office] three times last year,” Josh Cook, a junior majoring in public relations, said. “I’ve dropped letters off there in the mailbox.”
Johnson said many of the university departments don’t know that they can use their “P Card” (purchasing card) to buy stamps at the post office.
The TSC post office rents mail boxes out for students, faculty, and even those who aren’t associated with the university for $3 a month. It’s convenient to rent a box, he said, because the average student moves up to four times a year, and it becomes a hassle to keep changing your address, especially in regard to important documents, such as paychecks and grants. If students rent boxes from the post office, they’ll never have to worry about changing their address every time they move, Johnson said.
The post office does a large amount of foreign packages, due to the large number of foreign exchange students. Johnson said they probably do the most foreign packaging in all of Cache County because of this.
“The average wait for a downtown post office is five to seven minutes,” Johnson said. “But here, it is only a two and a half minute wait.”
Mark Schmidt, a senior majoring in economics and finance, said, “It’s really convenient for students who live on campus because the other post offices are several miles away.”
Since the post office in the TSC is a contract station, the money made there stays at the university, Alan Wolcott, a post clerk, said.
“It benefits the university and it keeps the services here,” Wolcott said.
-sarahwest@cc.usu.edu