By Dan FletcherThe Daily Northwestern
Casey Liang and Qingshuo Wang feel like they are getting kicked off their own campus.
The pair of Weinberg seniors were taken by surprise Tuesday when they received an e-mail from university administrators outlining NU’s choices of “preferred” summer storage companies for students.
The company they founded during their freshman year, The Boxing Co., wasn’t on the list. For the first time in three years, they wouldn’t be able to hand out packing supplies or recruit any customers on campus property. Only the two university choices – Collegeboxes.com and Public Storage – will be allowed to have booths or equipment on NU property. This is the first time NU has screened vendors for student storage, Wang said.
The list was made in response to a company that went bankrupt last summer, leaving students stranded without their possessions in the fall, Wang said.
Liang and Wang said they never stood a chance since they weren’t even invited to apply.
“We’re a pretty big company, and it’s surprising that we weren’t asked to submit a proposal,” Liang said. “We had about 180 customers last year, and we estimate the entire market (at NU) is only 350 students who need full-service summer storage.”
The Boxing Co. supplies boxes and tape to students for them to package up their possessions. The company picks up the boxes from each student’s dorm and delivers them again in the fall. It’s a fairly common business model, but Wang said his company has never lost a box.
The e-mail, which was sent to the entire student body, said vendors were chosen on the basis of service, experience, price and representation on campus. Liang said his company meets all those criteria.
“We were planning to give away $3,500 worth of packing supplies to students this year,” he said. “Not just to our customers – anyone who needed it.”
Theresa Delin, associate director for university housing, oversaw the creation of the list. Wang and Liang said they had been in touch with her to try and get the decision reversed but have been told there are now contractual issues between NU and its two chosen vendors.
“(The administration) is not willing to admit its mistake or amend the situation,” Liang said.
Delin could not be reached for comment.
The situation may not be all gloom and doom.
Communication freshman Dan Siegel said he missed the e-mail about the university’s choices and would go to whatever company is cheapest and most reliable – on or off campus. He said vendors, such as The Boxing Co., need to advertise.
“I don’t know enough to make a decision yet,” he said. “These groups need to do more to help students find out about them.”
Wang and Liang said they plan to use their connections as students to advertise around campus, a move they think will help cover the loss in business that the e-mail may cause. But they said they still would like to operate on their own campus.
“We just want our hands untied so we can start moving boxes,” Wang said.
Reach Dan Fletcher at [email protected].
