Grand Valley State University’s residential mailing system has recently been revitalized to be more convenient and beneficial for both students and campus employees.

The previous GVSU mailing system was split into two different locations, much like the new and improved system will be. Now, students living on campus will be able to pick up mail from their student mailboxes, which are shared with their roommates, and any larger packages in another location.

Packages are now going to be sent to a centralized location, the Ravine Center, across from GVSU’s tennis courts. This change was motivated by a few factors, said Andy Beachnau, director of housing and student affairs. 

The main benefit will be “eliminating delivery traffic from campus roads and parking lots, which will increase student safety and traffic flow,” Beachnau said.

Putting the new mail system off of Ravine Center Drive will help to alleviate the traffic that seems to unavoidably clog North and South Campus Drive, where old package mail rooms were located. Campus Drive is the point of a lot of automobile traffic, but also to foot traffic, as there are many crosswalks across the road. The removal of some delivery vehicles will make crossing easier and safer for students, a main priority for GVSU administrators.

So far, the university has just begun to collect feedback on the new system, but officials have already seen a reduction in delivery traffic in residential areas. University officials view it as a positive change mostly due to the efficiency and safety it allows for the students.

Some students living on campus have a slightly different view. Samantha Bartz, a freshman living on campus, sees some potential downsides in the new system. 

“I understand why you can’t get your packages delivered to your dorm, but it’s kind of inconvenient to walk to the Ravines,” she said. “If you have a larger package, you don’t want to have to carry it all the way back to freshman land.”

This is also a complaint of students living on South Campus, which no longer has any mail center for packages. 

For now, the new system will stay in place with the possibility of future expansion, which will likely be necessary as the university continues to grow in popularity. The rise in students living on campus will encourage the safer and more efficient system as even more students will be wandering around the Allendale Campus.