Liz Loves: Mail

by Elizabeth Uzelac

Tuesday March 7, 2006

From the mail room floor in Bates to the endless reaches of cyberspace, Sarah Lawrence offers an assortment of communication choices to its community. While our systems are far from flawless, I long ago fell for the imperfections of this school, including the seemingly distant mail room, the (previously) notorious package distribution and the irresistibly lethargic web mail.

The Mail Room

My favorite days in the mail room are those following a campus-wide distribution of a piece of information that a majority of students deem worthless. Guest lectures, Dean’s notices and the fairly recent “Have a Happy and Consensual Valentine’s Day” announcements all fall under this category. These brightly colored scraps of paper, once rejected by their recipients, are tossed in the air like the confetti of communal rejection; creating, as they fall, a cheerful kaleidoscope of disinterest.

Packages

Many moons ago when the Post Office and the Committee on Student Life made the decision to change the customary package notification procedure, many members of the Sarah Lawrence community were upset. Students could not imagine a happy or meaningful Sarah Lawrence existence without their beloved salmon-colored package slips. “The new e-mail notification system just won’t be the same,” they claimed. What would happen to us as intellectuals and as members of an academic and creative community? Was our identity so wrapped up in those little pieces of worn out cardstock that we could not, as individuals and as a collective people, tackle this obstacle and emerge triumphant? I truly wish I had the answers. I can, however, confirm that by adopting a system of electronic notification, Sarah Lawrence has constructed an environment where students actually receive their packages. Ten points for that, SLC.

Squirrel Mail

Sarah Lawrence web mail gets a bad rap. Sure it’s ridiculously slow, sure it’s obtuse and convoluted and of course it’s outdated. But who needs a permanent address, searchable correspondences or 2699.788024 megabytes (and counting) of free storage when you have Options? Squirrel Mail offers a variety of opportunities; from forwarding options to display preferences, this link is sure to have something for everyone. I highly recommend browsing Display Options with a thorough eye, taking special care not to miss color choices such as Alien Glow, Penguin and Spice of Life. This system caters to even the most fickle among us–one day you may be feeling 100 percent Black Bean Burrito, and the next day your spirits might be down right Dompie. Squirrel Mail is here to reaffirm those feelings, and your place in this world, with a personalized and changeable e-mail color scheme.