Post office unsure if it will return to CUB

Plans still remain in the works for the fate of the CUB post office during and after CUB renovations.

Due to conflicting interests specifically regarding post office box availability, it remains undetermined whether the post office will return or not.

“The university has said we can return to the CUB, just without P.O. boxes,” said Michele Stiller, post master at Pullman post office.  “But a post office without P.O. boxes is not a post office,” Stiller said.

Approximately 1,000 P.O. boxes line the walls of the current CUB post office; however, only 500 are used, and only half of those used are rented by students, said Terry Boston, executive director of administration services.

Due to space prioritization and minimal use of the current P.O. boxes in the CUB, student leaders and the CUB Steering Committee have determined that space utilized by P.O. boxes could be put to greater student use, Boston said.

The Steering Committee is currently working with the U.S. Postal Service to maintain other professional postal services.

A contract station post office, a smaller-scale post office that provides non-P.O. box postal services including domestic, international and package delivery services, forms and stamps, is being considered as an alternative to a full-service CUB post office. 

If the post office remains on campus during the interim when the CUB is closed, it’s not clear where it would be located. The suggested move to the Washington Building (former Memorial Hospital) is not viable, according to postal authorities.

Contract stations are becoming increasingly common across Pac-10 schools, Boston said.  However, it remains the decision of the post office whether to return to the CUB or find another location near campus.

“We don’t want WSU to go without postal service,” Stiller said.  “We’re just trying to figure out what kind of service that will be.” No dates are set for a final decision.