For students wishing to do business with the post office other than mailing standard letter-size envelopes, their closest hope is the U.S. Post Office in downtown DeKalb.

Even for those lucky enough to have a car on campus, this can be inconvenient for the average student trying to balance classes, studying, work and extracurricular activities.

The fact that the NIU campus does not have its own post office has nothing to do with the university itself, said Charlie Sharp, supervisor of customer service at the DeKalb U.S. Post Office, located at 600 E. Lincoln Highway. The reasoning, he said, is that one post office is enough to suffice the mail needs of the town.

“Most towns the size of DeKalb only have one post office,” Sharp said.

There is not enough business to support a second facility and finding a year-round staff to accommodate another office would be difficult, he said.

Larger towns, such as Rockford and Elgin, demand more than one post office.

The residence halls are no help, either.

“We can’t mail packages for residents,” said Samantha Picket, a junior business management major who works at the main desk in Stevenson North.

Although the campus is not likely to see its own post office in the near future, there are mail drop boxes located across the campus so students may drop off their bill payments and letters on their way to class.

There also are stamp machines at the pagoda in front of Neptune Hall and the Holmes Student Center.

In the meantime, campus residents who want to send packages, such as gifts or merchandise, will have to trek to the DeKalb branch of the post office.