I was devastated by Elon University's Board of Trustee’s decision to keep Chick-fil-A on campus. In this disappointment, I find myself continuously going over the events of the past eight months, speculating about things we could have done differently. I acknowledge there are quite a few things that could have been more smoothly executed on Spectrum’s end, but what sticks out most to me is that none of the events of the last eight months truly felt like a conversation or a dialogue. Yes, I’m sure there were many individuals who had their consciousness raised about LGBTQ oppression and what privilege looks like on our campus, but those weren’t the people who had the power to effect the change we desired. It is so clear to me that the Chick-fil-A issue was never really a dialogue when we deconstruct the email that articulated the Board’s decision.
WHAT THEY SAID:
1) There is no actionable cause to remove Chick-fil-A from campus.? Elon's food service contract is with Aramark (not Chick-fil-A), and the staff serving Chick-fil-A food at Elon are Aramark employees who are protected by a non-discrimination policy similar to Elon's. There has been no evidence of discrimination or complaints about service at Chick-fil-A on our campus. Chick-fil-A, Inc. has issued a public statement affirming its commitment "to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect, regardless of their beliefs, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender."
WHAT WE SAID:
Never, ever, was our argument that Elon’s relationship with Chick-fil-A be terminated as a result of “discrimination or complaints about service at Chick-fil-A on our campus”. I and others involved in this issue have continuously affirmed the independent employment of our Aramark employees who work at Elon’s Chick-fil-A and that our issue with Chick-fil-A has NEVER been how they treat their employees or customers. Dr. Ringelberg spoke about this very issue at the first SGA open forum to discuss Chick-fil-A on October 11. If this is something that we have affirmed from the very beginning, why was it the Board of Trustee’s first point to include with their decision?
Furthermore, there most certainly IS “actionable cause” for a severance of Elon’s relationship with Chick-fil-A. CFA has become a symbol that is actively being used to express hate and discrimination towards LGBTQ people at Elon. As Spectrum wrote in their February 20th letter to the Vendor Policy Committee, “the Elon administration’s failure to intervene in a situation where a group of its students feel unsafe, marginalized, and restricted in their identity expression on campus” is a “clear contradiction” of Elon’s commitment to ensuring “an open and accepting environment for learning, working, and living”. Having Chick-fil-A on campus- whether it’s in Moseley or McEwen, will undoubtedly affect many LGBTQ-identified and ally students, faculty, and staff on this campus in negative ways.
WHAT THEY SAID:
2) We believe that universities should be places that promote the free and open exchange of ideas. The Board is reluctant to put the University in a position of monitoring or making value judgments about the lawful philanthropic giving of vendors or related organizations, board members, alumni, faculty and staff, students, or friends. Removing Chick-fil-A solely on the basis of the owners' stated views or their lawful philanthropic choices would stand in opposition to Elon’s mission statement, which encourages freedom of thought and liberty of conscience.
WHAT WE SAID:
Again and again, Spectrum has said that our issue with Chick-fil-A is NOT COO Dan Cathy’s personal opinions about marriage equality. I can say with confidence that all of us would fervently defend Mr. Cathy’s right to freedom of speech and thought. What we take issue with is the charitable giving funded by Chick-fil-A that actively discriminates and oppresses individuals based on their sexual orientation, which is funded in part, however small and indirectly processed, by our meal plan dollars here at Elon.
Elon encourages us to wrestle with difficult questions, but it seems like the Board of Trustees is happy to say they are “reluctant” to make the tough calls. As Spectrum wrote in a letter to SGA President Flowers on October 17, “doing the right thing is not always easy, not always painless, and not always supported or endorsed by the majority, but it is still the right thing to do”.
WHAT THEY SAID:
3) Circumstances regarding this vendor have changed since the issues were raised last summer. Chick-fil-A, its owners and the Winshape Foundation have modified previous positions and stepped away from taking political stands on gay rights issues. Despite the Board's reluctance to make judgments about the philanthropy of vendors or others associated with Elon, the Board thinks it is notable that the Winshape Foundation made changes to its charitable giving in 2011. Mr. Dan Cathy, president and chief operating officer of Chick-fil-A, explained to members of the Vendor Policy Study Committee that the foundation previously provided financial support to certain groups without understanding the full impact of their positions. He said the foundation is now more aware of the sensitivities of Chick-fil-A customers and is more diligent about researching the organizations it supports. In light of changes by the Winshape Foundation, Campus Pride, an advocacy group for LGBTQIA issues on college campuses, dropped its campaign to boycott Chick-fil-A. Campus Pride Executive Director Shane Windmeyer began a dialogue with Mr. Cathy and wrote a public blog for the Huffington Post (http://huff.to/X97Y6v) explaining his relationship with Mr. Cathy and his hopes for seeking common ground with mutual respect.
WHAT WE SAID:
Elon has taught me to back my statements up with evidence and facts, and I’m not sure why we’re settling for less than absolute proof that Chick-fil-A has stopped their discriminatory charitable giving. When the rumors were first circulated in early October that Chick-fil-A had ceased giving to anti-LGBTQ groups, Spectrum suspended our SGA legislation, optimistic that the rumors would be true. Later that week, a fundraiser called the "WinShape Ride for Family" was held between Charleston and Wilmington in which the Chick-fil-A logo accompanied all of the publicity material. Registrants were asked to send the $3,500 price of entry directly to the Marriage and Family Foundation, which Equality Matters identified as the top antigay recipient of WinShape's donations in 2010, getting more than $1 million (hey-did you know that the Marriage and Family Foundation shares the same Atlanta address with the Chick-fil-A headquarters?). I’ve read the Huffington Post piece referenced by the Board of Trustees in their email, know Shane Windemeyer personally, and I am still unconvinced that Chick-fil-A has stopped their donations. Shane said Dan Cathy showed him Chick-fil-A’s recent 990 forms that show they have stopped funding hateful groups- but these have not been released to the public. And Dan Cathy has said nothing publically about ceasing to fund anti-LGBTQ groups? Why is the Board of Trustees basing such an important decision on anecdotal evidence? Furthermore, it’s interesting to note that the most recent IRS filings released by Winshape, the charitable arm of Chick-fil-A, reveal that its anti-LGBTQ donations nearly doubled in the past tax reporting year. And by the way, we’ve shared all this information both at SGA meetings and with the Vendor Policy committee.
I respect the process of the creation of the Vendor Policy Committee and really do applaud Elon for taking on this issue in an administrative capacity. Many administrators and faculty have told me they’ve admired the maturity and articulate nature of Spectrum students -- but does any of that matter if our message isn’t getting through and understood accurately by those who have the power to influence our daily campus lives?