Lick your stamps in the union

Tanith L. Balaban Arizona Daily Wildcat At the opening of the Memorial Student Union Post Office yesterday, Nick Hebekeuser, an optical sciences sophomore, takes advantage of the on campus facility by sending his mail Federal Express. The post office reopened after a roughly five-year closure.

The post office, with 450 boxes, opened yesterday across from Fast Copy.

It was the first time in five years that the Student Union has had a working post office. The post office was originally located across from Fast Copy in 1952, then later it moved into the area that Sam's Place now occupies.

In the early '90s, the post office closed and the mailboxes were moved to their present location across from Fast Copy, said Joe Sottosanti, senior program coordinator for student business affairs. The original post office closed because the Student Union was unable to cover costs of operating it, he said.

However, Sottosanti said this time labor and other costs will be covered by to a two-year, $46,000 per year contract made between the University of Arizona and the post office.

It was yesterday, at 8 a.m., when the boxes regained their usefulness. Boyd Beckwith, program director for operations, said anyone whether an individual student, UA staff, a student organization or department can rent a mailbox.

An individual box, he said, costs $15 per semester or $30 for a full year; a box for a student organization costs $20 for a full year. Departmental boxes, located behind the counter, cost $100 per year and are larger.

"We're exactly like a regular post office, but we're located conveniently in the Student Union," Beckwith said.

Stamps, he said, will be sold at the counter; however, the nearby stamp machine will stay. The Student Union post office will have a Monday through Friday 3 p.m. and Saturday 12:45 p.m. collection. All the mail for the residence halls will be dropped off in the Student Union post office and delivered by its staff.

"Our goal is to establish regular delivery times for the halls," Beckwith said.

Stacey Cohen, a marketing junior and a desk assistant at Kaibab-Huachuca, said hopefully mail will get to the dorms quicker now that it will be delivered by the Student Union post office rather than a regular mailcarrier.

"If it could come by noon it would be ideal," Cohen said.

Packages can also be picked up in the Student Union's post office. "It will have a notary service as well," Sharon Alicio, the post office manager, said.

The post office will be running at cost, opening with a staff of five, three of them students, Beckwith said. The Student Union's post office was supposed to open before school started, but the opening was delayed because of differences between state and federal insurance, he said.

"It (the delay) was strictly paperwork," Alicio said.

"Everyone who hears about (the post office) is very happy," said Pat Porfirio, the Student Union information desk receptionist.

"I think it is great," said Lety Gutierrez, an English junior, yesterday after using the post office. Gutierrez said she spends most of her day working in the Student Union and attending classes.

"It's easy access for me," she said.

Veronica Olivarez, a political science freshman, said she thinks the post office is convenient.

Although the Student Union's post office was not highly publicized, "We are very busy," Beckwith said.

Twenty -two people had signed up on a waiting list to rent boxes by Friday afternoon.

"We have a full waiting list," Alicio said.

She said the post office's staff will begin contacting people on the list in about two weeks to rent the boxes out and obtain payment.

Hours of the post office's operation are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The office also has a 24-hour mail drop-off slot. The UA's Student Union post office can be reached at 626-MAIL (6245 ).