By Cameron Stuart | Reporter
1845 at Memorial not only provides food all day for students with meal plans, but they also provide a release from the stress of everyday rigors through the music pumping through their speakers.
The playlists come from an amalgamation of songs and CD’s the staff brings in. From there, they burn it into one CD to play the songs students hear playing in the dining hall. Production manager Toni Thomas thinks it helps team morale within the staff.
“It definitely improves morale and the atmosphere of the dining hall,” Thomas said. “It bumps motivation a notch.”
Thomas likes to add the Motown genre to the playlists, with her artists of choice including Al Green, The Jackson 5 and Marvin Gaye.
It is not uncommon to see students de-stressing by taking in the variety of music. For Memorial supervisor Sharon McDonald, that is the exact purpose of the soundtracks.
“It’s all about the students, for them to come in and have a good time,” McDonald said. “We always see them dancing and sometimes I try to dance with them, it’s just fun.”
As a self-admitted avid dancer, McDonald enjoys both the soft country and also instrumental jazz. She also infers that a favorite song amongst the students is “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey.
Memorial supervisor Tomyka Brown sees the effects of the diverse playlist every day, saying both she and the students seem to enjoy all types of music.
“I like all of the music,” Brown said. “We see those students and they are vibing with it, they’re always jamming.”
As a string of Toby Keith songs cascaded down on the dining hall, Brown said she can get into any music they play and saying that the country that was playing is always something students enjoy, being in Texas.
While the students are enjoying it, the employees agree that it adds a positive atmosphere to Memorial that other dining halls don’t quite have.
“It just makes everything upbeat,” McDonald said. “It just puts everyone in a mood, we are all so happy here.”
Whether it be from a burnt CD or someone’s Spotify playlist, the music always comes from the hearts, souls and iPhones of the employees. The aim of the music, however, is to make Memorial a more upbeat place for both employees and patrons.
Memorial is open daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
