The smell of cookies and coffee filled 112 University Hall yesterday morning.
The goodies were being sold by University post office employees in an effort to raise funds to purchase an awning for the office’s loading dock.
The office’s loading dock, which is about 30 feet long by 8 feet wide, has been without any form of overhead covering for about 15 years.
The last covering the loading dock had was a metal awning that was lost in a wind storm in the mid 1980s.
The awning was never replaced, according to postal staff, because there was talk of the post office relocating to the Park Avenue Warehouse, which is located on Park Avenue next to the College Park Office Building.
“We were told we were going to be moving — and we’re still here,” said Carol Drummer, a mail clerk messenger at the post office.
“Even if we’re here a little longer, the next people will still need it [the awning]. It’s not just for us,” Drummer said.
Employees attribute their lack of an awning to it simply not being considered a high priority by upper management or the University.
“There are always priorities,” said Larry White, a delivery worker of 22 years. “But you would think somewhere down the line we would be on the top of the list.”
Upper management declined to comment on the situation involving the post office’s request for an awning.
Fifteen years after they lost their awning, and without any move planned in the near future, postal employees are eager for some form of covering from the wind, rain and snow.
“It gets icy out here when it’s raining,” Drummer said. “And the mail gets wet then.”
Employees also explained that without the awning, rain and thawing snow drizzle onto the loading dock, making for not only wet mail but also a slippery surface likely to re-freeze and become unsafe for workers.
The ideal situation for postal staff would be an awning that would cover the entire loading dock.
Employees estimate the cost of an awning and installation to fall in the price range of $1,700 to $2,000.
Staff workers’ fundraising efforts earned about $125 as of 1 p.m. yesterday.
Patrons consisted mostly of people from the surrounding buildings near University Hall.