Students at Duquesne University, a Catholic school in Pittsburgh, are raising concerns that an on-campus location of the fast food chain Chick-fil-A could somehow make things "unsafe" for LGBT students of the university. Student government representatives argued that the presence of the Chick-fil-A as a dining option would "marginalize" students and could make them feel as though the food court is no longer a "safe place."
From Campus Reform:
“Chick-fil-A has a questionable history on civil rights and human rights,” Martini remarked in a statement to The Duquesne Duke. “I think it’s imperative [that] the university chooses to do business with organizations that coincide with the [university’s] mission and expectations they give students regarding diversity and inclusion.”
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“I’ve tried very hard within the last semester and a half to promote this safe environment for the LGBTQ community. So I fear that with the Chick-fil-A being in Options [an on-campus food court] that maybe people will feel that safe place is at risk,” Rachel Coury explained, adding that at the very least her organization would like “someone” to “make a statement” on the issue.
“It would be a really big deal for Lambda [Gay-Straight Alliance] and the whole LGBTQ community on campus if someone could make a statement to eliminate the fear of being marginalized by having this business on campus,” she said.
Chick-fil-A has locations on nearly 250 college campuses throughout the country, never mind its near-ubiquitous presence at airports and other public locations. As far as I'm aware, there have not been any anti-gay assaults or crimes at any of these locations (unless one considers the inevitable heart disease triggered by frequent consumption of Chick-fil-A's fried products to be a slow-moving assault). The company no longer donates to controversial causes. If students at other campuses are able to both enjoy Chick-fil-A's waffle fries and support their LGBT friends, there's no reason why Duquesne students can't either. This whole thing is insane.
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