COLLEGE PARK, Md. – A petition by some staff and students is calling on the University of Maryland (UM) to kick Chick-fil-A off the College Park campus. The petition on Change.org has collected nearly a 1,000 signatures and asks the university to end its partnership with the chain after its president, Dan Cathy, told a Christian newspaper and radio station that he opposes same-sex marriage.
The petition states, “Judging by the homophobic words and actions of top Chick-fil-A executives, and the $2 million donated by the company to homophobic organizations such as the Marriage & Family Foundation in 2010 alone, it is clear that Chick-fil-A does not represent the values embraced by the University of Maryland community. Allowing such an organization to continue to operate in the SSU runs counter to the spirit of equality that the university claims to champion.”
According to The Baltimore Sun Rodrigo Lozada, co-president of the University of Maryland Pride Alliance said in an email Monday that the petition will send “a message to University officials that students want a campus that is more inclusive and accepting and one that isn’t hypocritical.”
Nick Sakurai, associate director of the university’s LGBT Equity Center said, “I’m concerned to see Chick-fil-A on campus. I would question why we would make a choice to partner with a company that doesn’t represent the values of the university. And we’re profiting from it, too.”
Staffed by University of Maryland employees, the Chick-fil-A on campus is run on a license basis. The university recently renewed its contract with the company.
