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Loyola University • New Orleans • Volume 101 • Issue 08

M THE MAROON MARCH 24, 2023

Frustrated N Confused Students frustrated with Bird N Brine app By Kloe Witt kgwitt@loyno.edu @kloewitt22 Students on Loyola’s campus love their chicken. But what they don’t love is needing confusing apps to get that chicken. This is what some students on campus have complained about when it comes to the new Bird N Brine chicken spot that replaced the Original Burger Company in the Danna Center. Erica Glenn, retail and marketing manager for Sodexo at Loyola, said the decision to switch was part of a “We Heard You” program. In this program, Sodexo posted on the Loyno Dining Instagram with a poll asking what students favorite fast food was. “The common denominator was chicken, so we decided to proceed with Bird N Brine,” Glenn said. Unlike the Original Burger Company, Bird N Brine doesn’t offer in-person ordering. Instead, students have to order through the Everyday app. “Bird N Brine is a virtual concept. As dining is progressing into the future, more virtual concepts are becoming the norm. We thought it would be ideal to introduce this option on campus,” Glenn said. The use of virtual ordering is a key part of the restaurant. However, it also seems to be a downfall. Many students have said they are frustrated with the app. Mass communication freshman Maggie Powell said the app has caused her to change her mind while ordering. “Most of the time, I get half way through the app and I’m just like, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ I get frustrated,” Powell said. This follows suit with other initiatives

Loyola has launched which have increased dependence on virtual communication as a way of heading to the future in several ways, but students have continued to prefer traditional face-to-face interaction. “Being in line and being able to be there and watch it happen, I guess, it’s better and easier,” Powell said. According to Glenn, Sodexo is aware of the issues with the app. However, she said these are more due to Loyola’s Wi-Fi connectivity issues. This is something that the university disputes, having recently invested in new internet infrastructure. Chief Information Officer Alan Schomaker said the internet has continued to be improved across campus. Glenn said they are working to fix the app’s issues. Even with the issues, Glenn said Bird N Brine has been more successful than the previous joint and has received positive feedback. “We took another poll not too long after opening Bird N Brine, because we really wanted to hear back what the community had to say. We have received mixed feedback, mostly positive,” Glenn said. Although Powell said she did enjoy the food, when comparing it to Raising Cane’s and Zaxby’s, she still prefers the Original Burger Company. “Hashtag OBC for life,” she said. Glenn said depending on the future, Sodexo will consider an in-person ordering option. In the meantime, she said they are focusing on education. “We would like to educate everyone on how to use the app, so that it is as easy as ordering anything else online,” she said.

Professor starts initiative against human trafficking By Macie Batson mmbatson@my.loyno.edu @maciembats

Media professor Ty Lawson had a vision for a class that taught more than just the “nuts and bolts” when coming to Loyola. He said he recognized the importance of teaching students how to create media that matters. With the help of the School of Communication and Design and in partnering with Loyola College of Law, Lawson was able to create a new course called “Mapping Human Trafficking” and an initiative titled “Media that Matters,” in which students will be campaigning for awareness of forced labor, human trafficking, and sex trafficking. Loyola students are also collaborating with Universidad Austral in Argentina to examine different trafficking cases in Central and Latin America, as well as in the United States and China, according to Lawson. Lawson said that his main inspiration for this course and initiative is the fact that not many people realize that human trafficking goes beyond sex trafficking. “It’s something we don’t even realize, I mean it’s a $150 billion industry and 20 million people are trafficked every day. There’s money in it,” he said. “We can’t ignore that.” Lawson talked about the unsafe and inhumane conditions that incarcerated people are forced to undertake, and how Louisiana is a bit late in trying to address this issue, considering the governor’s office of human trafficking only came about four years ago. “Louisiana is sandwiched between Mississippi and Texas, which are two of the leading states in human trafficking,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that New Orleans didn’t have an office sooner, because we’re a place where we know it happens, because we’re a tourist city.”

See INITIATIVE, page 2

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