[12239] in APO News
Re: Help save the MIT Post Office from its imminent demise
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jennifer Tu)
Tue Sep 22 17:02:15 2009
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:01:11 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jennifer Tu <jtu@MIT.EDU>
To: Mitchell E Berger <mitchb@MIT.EDU>
cc: apo-news@MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: <200909182251.n8IMpIgZ030734@yaz-pistachio.mit.edu>
FYI, I just churned out two letters to my rep and senator in the last 15
minutes (Mitch said I could use the same text for both -- double impact
for same amount of effort!). I wrote about how it shouldn't get closed
because it makes money and because it was useful (when I needed to buy
stamps and send a package or two, it was convenient and useful and did
what I wanted -- yes, buying stamps conveniently is totally a legit
reason!).
It's basically three paragraphs, churned out in TextEdit, and I finished
about the same time as my install completed. It's not pretty, but that's
not the point (so you shouldn't worry about how pretty yours looks
either!). I'm going to sign it and drop it off at the UA office on my way
from work.
Anyway, think about writing something. Fifteen minutes. Doesn't have to
be pretty, just should ask for the MIT Post Office to not be closed and
have your address and signature on it. Actually, don't think about it;
it'll take less time to just write it. yiS,
--Jennifer
P.S. Link if you forgot: http://web.mit.edu/asa/usps/how-to-help.html
It's got the two addresses you care about on it.
P.P.S. I just looked at the printout. I think I used Courier. This
strikes me as quite comical.
P.P.P.S. I think I've spent more time and words on this email than the two
letters I have sitting beside me!
On Fri, 18 Sep 2009, Mitchell E Berger wrote:
> Hi APO,
>
> Now that the reason I pulled an all-nighter last night is finally out
> in the open...
>
> If you hadn't heard, the USPS is trying to close the post office in
> W20. This would be a terrible loss to MIT for a number of reasons.
> What's more is that our post office operates at a profit, and that
> the USPS is trying to force this decision through with as little
> input or interference from the public as possible. There are a good
> number of fairly unscrupulous things that have been going on in terms
> of withholding information, avoiding public response, etc.
>
> It seems that the only way we have a chance of saving the post office
> is to convince the folks in Washington to say something on our behalf.
> Doing that requires convincing them that this issue matters to a lot
> of us. You can help! If you care at all about having a post office
> on campus, please, please find a little bit of time this weekend to
> write a letter to our congresspeople. The most disappointing outcome
> of this effort would be not having enough letters to show that MIT
> cares when next week rolls around.
>
> The following snippet appeared in the ASA official e-mail that was
> just sent to all student group officer lists. Please look through
> it and visit http://web.mit.edu/asa/usps/how-to-help.html to see
> how you can contribute. Remember that there are four parts to
> our Service program, and one of those is Service to the Campus.
> I think we have a meaningful opportunity here to provide service to
> our campus by trying to save our post office. Ask your friends
> to help, too!
>
> If you'd like to talk about it, I'm around somewhere... usually. 8-)
>
> YiLickingFlatrateStamps,
> Mitch
>
>
> ========== Snippet from ASA Official e-mail ==========================
>
> 3. Permanent Closing of MIT Post Office Likely
>
> The US Postal Service has put the MIT Post Office (in the basement of W20)
> on a list of roughly 400 branches being considered for closure. USPS plans
> on making their final decisions on or around October 2. Desipte the fact
> that our post office operates at a profit of over $200,000 per year, it
> looks as if the post office is not going to be removed from the list,
> unless the MIT community demonstrates just how many people would be
> negatively impacted by its loss.
>
> Austin Chu (eefi) and Mitch Berger (mitchb) are coordinating an effort to
> save our post office. If you or your student group use it, please let
> your student group know about the serious and immediate danger that the
> post office is in. Ask your group's members to visit:
> http://web.mit.edu/asa/usps/how-to-help.html
>
> On that page, you'll find details about how you can help by...
> * Writing a short personalized letter to our Congressman and Senator
> * Calling their offices to speak with them about saving the Post Office
> * Filling out a survey being conducted by the USPS about the closure
> * Signing a petition by the American Postal Workers Union
>
> Please feel free to email asa-post-office@mit.edu with any questions.
>
