(02/22/13 11:40pm)
Aramark, Elon University’s dining service provider, released a list of vendors that may potentially replace Chick-Fil-A if the Vendor Policy Study Committee decides to retire Chick-fil-A later this year.
The Vendor Policy Study Committee was created in October to examine Elon’s partnership with Chick-fil-A, a controversial relationship that divided the student body last fall. Led by Spectrum, Elon’s queer-straight alliance, some students argued Chick-fil-A’s donations to anti-gay organizations do not align with Elon’s nondiscrimination policy, while others insisted the vendor does not actively discriminate against anyone.
The list consists of a variety of restaurants that have contracts with Aramark, from fried chicken establishments like KFC to southwest food franchises like Chipotle. The university is not officially considering a Chick-fil-A replacement yet, and not all restaurants on the list are viable options.
“Some might not fit well with our student demographic, might not work well with other food choices already on campus, et cetera,” said Vickie Somers, director of auxiliary services.
Jana Lynn Patterson, assistant vice president for Student Life, received the list in early October when the Chick-fil-A controversy surfaced on campus. She gave it to Kirsten Ringelberg, LGBTQIA coordinator and art history professor, when Spectrum drafted its legislation to remove Chick-fil-A and presented it to the Student Government Association.
Senior Lauren Clapp, an advocacy and education chair for Spectrum, said she believes releasing the list might impact students’ opinion on the Chick-fil-A debate.
“I think that if students were made aware of all of these other potential vendors that could go into the new dining hall, they wouldn't still be so adamantly in favor of putting Chick-fil-A there,” Clapp said. “The way I see it, we could either keep Chick-fil-A, which will continue to be a controversial — and for many, a hurtful — presence on campus, or we could pick another, equally delicious, probably much more healthy, and certainly less divisive food vendor.”
Aramark first released the list in 2010 as a survey to test students’ tastes and preferences. At the time, 38 percent of Elon students surveyed voted Chick-fil-A as their favorite chicken vendor.
“Aramark is invested in our student’s needs and services,” said Connie Book, the co-chair of the vendor policy committee. “Every semester, students receive a survey to constantly test things like where you eat, what dining hall is preferred.”
Book said choosing a restaurant to replace Chick-fil-A would be as complicated as deciding whether to remove Chick-fil-A from campus.
“First and second-year students are usually the ones on campus, going to dining halls, so when we’re talking about finding a new vendor, should our decision be about what they prefer because they’re our primary concern?” Book asked. “But now that we have Mill Point and the new Global neighborhoods, and more third and fourth-year students will be living on campus, we have to take that into account too.”