Your recent article “Memorial Union post office decreases hours,” from Nov. 29, offered the view of only a single student when assessing the impact on ISU students and faculty from the U.S. Postal Service’s recent decision to change the operating schedule at the Memorial Union Postal Station.

It’s no secret that the Postal Service is struggling to match declining mail volume and work hours. The combination of an extremely weak economy and the virtual explosion of electronic communications alternatives leave the agency little choice but to devote our limited resources in the most efficient way possible.

That is why the Postal Service offers online services, such as our popular Click-N-Ship — where customers can print postage and shipping labels from a work or home computer — as well as free package pickup and free Priority Mail Flat Rate shipping supplies. There are also postage discounts available when a customer ships online at usps.com.

What’s more, in addition to the nearby Welch Postal Station and the Ames Main Post Office on Kellogg Avenue, the USPS offers our products and services at several local Contract Postal Units, including Carver Ace Hardware at 615 24th St. and the Hy-Vee Stores located at 3800 Lincoln Way, 640 Lincoln Way and 500 Main St. And, of course, we’re still operating the Memorial Union Station three days a week.

And even though the Postal Service doesn’t use a single penny of tax money, independent measurements of our delivery service, customer satisfaction and trust among the American public are higher than ever.