Several weeks ago, Andrew Hoffman '05 sent an envelope containing $12 through the Hinman Post Office to a friend, he said. To his surprise, the money, which he had folded and disguised behind several sheets of paper, was never delivered.
"I don't know what happened to it, but I know it went out of my hands into intra-campus mail, and, so far as I know, the employees of the Hinman Post Office are the only ones who touched the mail," Hoffman said.
After Hoffman and a number of other students reported that envelopes containing checks or cash had disappeared in transit through Dartmouth's mail office, the College investigated the situation, reimbursed students and made sure that the errant clerk faced punishment.
Although Assistant Director of Facilities Operations & Management Bill Barr declined to identify the mail clerk involved, he did say that "the individual is no longer at the College."
Barr also maintained that the incident did not involve criminal charges and should not be labeled as theft.
"It's a matter of sometimes the mail does not get delivered and it's misdirected and doesn't end up in the same mailbox and it doesn't show up," Barr said. "As for malicious behavior, you know, the employee is no longer at the College, so I'll leave it at that."
Barr stressed that this problem was not endemic to the College's post office.
"It's a matter of mail that goes through the post office getting to the right place, and that's what we do, and that's what we strive to do on a daily basis," Barr continued.
According to Acting Associate Vice President for Human Resources Barbara Johnson, a mail clerk resigned last week. Johnson, however, was unwilling to specify the reasons for his resignation, or whether it was related to the missing letters.
Johnson suggested that the incident should not be blown out of proportion, noting that people have always been cautioned against sending checks and cash in the mail.
"There was something reported to the school and restitution was made to the student or students involved," Johnson said. "I don't mean for this to look so secretive, but I am most interested in protecting a person who has been an employee at the College."
Rumors and alerts of the incident have caused some students and student groups to worry that their past letters may have been tampered with or stolen.
Among these groups, Relay for Life, which holds its relay fundraiser this weekend, has scrambled to make sure that all intended donations were received. One of the student organizers, Soralee Ayvar '07, sent a BlitzMail message to all Relay team captains trying figure out if their organization has been affected by the mail fraud.
Relay for Life has not reported any problems collecting donations through the Hinman Post Office, but the group remains on alert.
"Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing what might have been stolen and can only hope that if any was, that it was minimal," Relay Event Chair Lindsay Longe '06 said. "This makes me nervous and quite sad."