A private university in New Jersey believes Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong on the menu for students.
Rider University asked students earlier this year what fast-food chain they would like to see on campus, circulating a survey in which students could select their preferred choice.
But once it became clear students were craving Chick-fil-A, the university excluded the option, citing concerns over the company’s attitudes toward the LGBTQ community.
The school said in a statement that the restaurant option was removed “based on the company’s record widely perceived to be in opposition to the LGBTQ community.”
It admitted that the move could be perceived as a “form of exclusion,” but the institution wanted to remain “faithful to our values of inclusion.”
Chick-fil-A is a fast-food chain well known for its Christian values, whose corporate purpose is “To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us.”
The company has been criticized in the past over CEO Dan Cathy’s views concerning gay marriage. In 2012, he came out in defense of the traditional definition of marriage and expressed views critical of gay marriage stemming from his Christian faith.
Rider University said it will organize a forum so all students and faculty members can voice their views on the situation.
A Chick-fil-A spokesman told CBS News: “Chick-fil-A is a restaurant company focused on food, service and hospitality, and our restaurants and licensed locations on college campuses welcome everyone. We have no policy of discrimination against any group, and we do not have a political or social agenda.”
Earlier this month, the Pittsburgh Public Schools board of directors voted unanimously to oppose Chick-fil-A as the corporate sponsor for the Pittsburgh Kids Marathon and Kids of Steel program, TribLive reported.
The school board approved the resolution over concerns about the company’s historical stance on LGBTQ issues.
“The family-owned, privately held restaurant company has expressed views contrary to and in conflict with the district’s non-discrimination policies,” the school board resolution said, according to the outlet.
In June, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was also slammed for merely spending money at the restaurant, prompting his apology, saying he “completely forgot about [the restaurant’s] background.”