Despite the faculty governing body at California Polytechnic State University voting overwhelmingly to remove Chick-fil-A from campus, the university’s administration is pushing back, saying that to do so would be a form of censorship.
Of the 44 Cal Poly Academic Senate members who voted on the matter, 38 voted in favor of removing the fast food chicken restaurant from campus, according to a local NBC affiliate. Those making the request cited the Chick-fil-A Foundation donations to organizations blamed for having anti-LGBT views.
Although the Academic Senate voted to recommend the restaurant’s removal, the decision to take action is up to the university’s president, Jeffrey Armstrong.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the administration for comment and spokesman Matt Lazier said in a statement that in the 25 years Chick-fil-A has been on campus it has been one of the most popular restaurants on campus and has “never received a single complaint or concern of discriminatory action.”
“While university administration passionately disagrees with the values of some of the organizations the president of Chick-fil-A has chosen to make personal donations to, we do not believe in responding to intolerance with intolerance,” Lazier said.
“University administration does not intend to end its relationship with that business simply because it disagrees with the religious or political beliefs of its president. To do so would be its own form of censorship and intolerance,” he added.
Academic Senate Vice Chairman Thomas Gutierrez told the Washington Examiner that the group voted the way it did because Chick-fil-A “has a long, public history of donating to causes that actively and unapologetically oppose the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals.
“Because of this, Chick-Fil-A’s presence on campus is in marked tension with both our advertised university values and ongoing vigorous efforts to improve campus climate,” he said.
Gutierrez noted that the Academic Senate is a purely advisory body, but said the group felt the need to weigh in on the matter.
“While we are disappointed with the administration’s reaction to the resolution, we continue to invite this administration to find strategic solutions that align our business practices with our advertised values,” he added.
Chick-fil-A has come under fire nationally in recent months. In March, the San Antonio City Council voted to block the chain from opening a restaurant at the San Antonio International Airport. Then in April plans were scrapped to build one of restaurants at Buffalo Niagara International Airport in New York.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Chick-fil-A for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
