An Open Letter by Elijah T. '11

Probably one of the most lucrative jobs on campus is that of the dorm desk worker. Not only because future employers love students who have had dorm desk experience (Steve Jobs worked Desk), but also because it’s so easy to multi-task. I am one of said desk workers at Baker, and early last month I made the terrible mistake of taking one of the 8am-10am shifts. I have no problem waking up that early; it’s just… well… that’s when the mail arrives.

This year, Desk workers across campus have reported that they have been receiving more packages than usual; I recall having to check maybe 10-15 packages on an average morning in the past, but on that one day last month, I had to check in nearly 50 packages of various sizes. The culprit? Well, most pinned the blame on Amazon for its recent Amazon Student promotion, which gives college students free Amazon Prime membership (with free two-day shipping) for a year. And, supposedly, students have been taking advantage of this, now being so lazy they can’t even go to the store to pick something up.

I’ll admit I’m no less guilty than anyone else on this matter. I purchased tea, a scrapbook, and several textbooks from Amazon, and I was considering buying a notebook (the paper kind, not the computer kind), just because of the Prime membership. And last month, The Tech published an article about the package fiasco.

Well, today, Amazon, in probably one of the smartest PR moves, took out a full-page ad in The Tech “apologizing” for the additional burden caused by their program. You can take a look at the online and below.

And, no, I do not work for Amazon…