Some Dillard University students have been struggling to make on-campus dining options work for them. With one full dining hall option that has limited hours, some students with busy schedules said it’s difficult to catch their meal.
Kearny Hall operates on a set schedule throughout the week. On weekdays, Kearny is open for breakfast from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and dinner from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. On weekends, brunch is available from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner hours remain the same.
The problem with that time schedule is that many classes are scheduled during the meal times, some students have to work, and others are participating in extracurriculars like sports, inhibiting some of them from being able to eat.
“Even if I did just roll out of bed, go to Kearny, eat, and then come back, I still wouldn’t have enough time to get ready, eat, and go to class. You know like it’s just that two-hour time slot just isn’t enough in the morning,” said junior chemistry student, Derrick Brown.
Breakfast isn’t the only meal getting skipped.
“I might not be able to get there because I might have a project to work on. I might have to stay like after hours to do something, and then I won’t be able to make it to Kearny,” said Langston Smith, a freshman criminal justice major from Kansas City, Mo. “I think if extended hours were offered, it would take a lot of distress off of me from like having to worry about getting everything done within a certain time frame, so I can eat.”
Students, like junior film major Brianna Fefie, also suggested that Kearny should change its dinner hours to end later, at 7:30 or 8 p.m.
“It’s making me depressed. I’ve had to spend more money on DoorDash than ever before this semester,” said Fefie. “I never had to DoorDash this much last semester, and I feel like even when I do come to dinner, I’m still hungry because the food isn’t filling,” said Fefie.
Fefie regards her experience with dining at Kearny as “sub-par” and “lackluster”. She finds that the options offered at Kearny dining hall, the Original Burger Company Grill, which recently replaced the World of Wings in the Student Union, and the on-campus Starbucks are repetitive and overall lacking in quality, said Fefie.
“I feel like there isn’t as much variety as there was before. It’s either pasta, pizza, burgers, or the salad/sandwich bar. Everything pretty much stays the same,” she said.
Other students relate to this sentiment that Kearny doesn’t offer enough options or variety and they feel stuck eating the same couple of things each time they dine.
“I would really say we need more options. I’m grateful for the options they’ve brought, but we still need more options. Our go-to shouldn’t be a burger and pizza and fries; that shouldn’t be our everyday option. Switch out our everyday options,” said Timya James, a senior visual arts major from Vicksburg, Mississippi.
The variety isn’t the issue for everyone. The quality of food being served is another large concern for students.
“My problems don’t lie with the variety, it’s just the quality of the food. Sometimes you walk in there and it’s like ‘Dang, this is it?’ And I would rather just starve at that point or make a peanut butter and jelly,” said Noah Oliver, a junior criminal justice major from Houston. “I don’t think that’s how our main source of food on campus should be. It’s quite unfortunate,” he continued.
Another student, Tyrin Demeritt, a junior computer science major from Westland, Michigan, said she got sick from eating Kearny in 2024. She threw up after eating a burger and had to go to the hospital, she said.
She expressed that since coming to Dillard, she’s fallen ill after eating at Kearny at least 6 times while eating the same foods at different establishments, and being fine.
“Every time somebody gets sick, or a mass of students get sick, like whoever is above the people at Kearny, they need to do a walkthrough and see how everything is made. Because, if I’m being forced to pay for a meal plan that I can’t even use, it doesn’t make sense,” she said.
Though students voiced their complaints, they acknowledged that Kearny has made improvements from previous years.
“I think it’s a lot better than last year, I will say. I can definitely see that there’s more effort. I don’t know if it’s funding or what, or new management, but there’s definitely been a change. Last year, it was definitely worse, so it’s definitely improving,” said Oliver.
Kearny Dining Hall general manager Scott Price and operations manager Devon Jones did not respond to requests for comment.
[Content pulled from Bleu Media Network News package by Sonse’rae Fuery]
