Colleges feel pressure to drop Chick-fil-A

July 26—In response to recent controversial statements made by Chick-Fil-A corporate leaders, students at seven universities have launched petitions demanding the removal of Chick-fil-A franchises on their campuses.

The petitions target officials at the University of Illinois, the University of Kansas, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Ball State University, College of Charleston, Wichita State University and Minnesota State University.
The move comes after the company made a public stance against same-sex marriage.

“In the last several days, the president of Chick-fil-A, Dan Cathy, reaffirmed the company's anti-gay marriage stance and their allocation of funds to support organizations countering the marriage equality movement,” wrote James Castle, a law student at the University of Kansas, in his petition on Change.org, which was released in a press release. “Because Chick-fil-A's stance on gay rights could create a hostile environment for queer youth andallies, having a Chick-fil-A on campus deeply conflicts with The University of Kansas Mission on Values and the Chancellor's and Provost's personal commitments to diversity at KU.”

The student-led movement to block Chick-fil-A from college campuses began last fall when students at 11 schools launched petitions after a similar round of media coverage. One such student at Northeastern University started a petition that, after gaining just over 600 signatures, helped in stopping Chick-fil-A from opening a restaurant on its campus.