Faculty members at Purdue University have continued their push against the installation of a Chick-fil-A location on campus despite the administration’s firm rejection of their demands in September.
According to a local news report, Purdue University faculty have continued to fight against plans to bring Chick-fil-A to campus.
Breitbart News reported in September that Purdue officials had rejected calls from faculty protesters to cancel plans to bring Chick-fil-A to the school, which has long been requested by students.
“While we respect and protect the rights of all to express their opinions at Purdue, this clarification is intended to reassure our students and others that this long-requested dining option will not be taken from them and to dispel any impression that Purdue would ever seriously consider such an action,” the university wrote in a statement that was published in September.
Despite the university’s firm stance, many faculty members have continued to protest. Alice Pawley, a professor of engineering education, argued that installing a Chick-fil-A, which she called a “symbol of discrimination,” on campus would create a hostile environment for LGBT students.
“I think inviting vendors to do business on our campus, to make their business from our students, staff and faculty when their values are counter to ours is undercutting our own commitment to our values,” she said. “I can speak to how I think about having on campus a symbol of discrimination against LGBTQ people will affect Purdue’s ability to provide a campus environment where our LGBTQ students can learn fairly compared to their straight peers, as I think it does.”
John Gates, Purdue’s vice provost for diversity and inclusion, argued that excluding Chick-fil-A from campus on the basis of the corporation’s relationship with Christianity would be a violation of the university’s diversity principles.
“That’s a foundational piece for the university,” Gates said in a comment. “We don’t accept discrimination from anyone on any level. … Whether we agree with everybody or not, if we’re going to be true an inclusive framework, we can leave nobody behind. So, conservatives and liberals both are included, and people in between. Straight and gay, it doesn’t matter. We are one university, and it’s one university of all people. That actually includes Chick-fil-A.”
Stay tuned to Breitbart News for more updates on this story.
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