Chick-fil-A has recently been outed as a supporter for known anti-gay groups.
Metroweekly.com states, "In August, Chick-fil-A was listed as the 'Lunch Sponsor' of a Citizens for Community Values event. CCV says it is 'officially affiliated' with three of the country's most anti-gay groups: American Family Association, Family Research Council and Focus on the Family."
According to blogs.phillymag.com, "Chick-fil-A ... was also tied to anti-gay controversy last year, when it supported Focus on the Family, a supporter of reparative therapy programs to turn gays 'straight.'"
This is a problem. I honestly can't believe this establishment is allowed on campus when we have such an active gay community. It would be like putting a fast-food chain in the Student Center that is anti-women, anti-black or anti-Muslim. That would not go unnoticed for as long as this issue has.
How would you feel if you were deciding what to eat for lunch and you had to stop yourself from going to Chick-fil-A because they actively campaign against something about yourself you have no control over and cannot change?
This isn't the 1960s where it was OK for water fountains to be segregated. In fact, we look back on those times and wonder how we could treat anyone that way. And yet we are, legally and now through a chicken sandwich stigma.
So why is Chick-fil-A even allowed to run its business here at Auburn, who prides itself on diversity and, according to the creed "protect(ing) the rights of all?"
Even though Chik-fil-A doesn't refuse service to gay individuals, the support role they play in anti-gay organizations creates an atmosphere of aversion that straight people do not have to consider.
At what price can Auburn be bought out? It's undeniable that Chick-fil-A brings Auburn's campus a ridiculous amount of revenue, which leads one to question whether the moral implications are known but simply insubstantial in the shadow of all that money.
Does this sound familiar to anyone else? Perhaps comparable to the slave labor and brutality used to produce diamonds?
We know it's wrong, but they're just so damn shiny.
Kate Davis
junior, zoology
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