This fall, Chick-fil-A was added to the University’s list of vendors stationed at Homewood Field during games. It replaced previous vendors whose contracts were not renewed due to sanitation concerns. At Tuesday’s Student Government Association (SGA) meeting, there was discussion over a possible initiative to get rid of the association between Hopkins and the fast-food chain.
Earlier this year, Chick-fil-A sparked controversy after CEO Dan Cathy made public comments expressing his views opposing same sex marriage. Yesterday, however, the company released a statement to “leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena” after a Chicago LGBT group claimed that Chick-fil-A pledged to stop giving funds to organizations that are anti-gay marriage. Though the initiative was brought up one day before the group made this announcement, many people will likely still boycott the chain. It is important to note that the Athletic Department selected Chick-fil-A before the controversy started.
We commend the University for addressing the sanitation issues that it found. However, this page believes that students should have a voice in deciding which food establishments come to campus and which ones leave. If a considerable number of students were to protest Chick-fil-A’s presence on campus, this page would recommend that the University terminate or refuse to renew Chick-fil-A’s contract.
Regardless of whether the SGA passes the initiative to boycott the company, administrators should take into account concerns and considerations that its students have over any food chains on campus, as they represent the Hopkins brand.
