The latest in the Chick-fil-A saga is a petition that has surfaced online, written by Gallatin freshman Hillary Dworkoski. In the past we’ve brought you news of the conservative chain, and how to avoid eating their homophobic chicken. Now Dworkoski is hoping to change the Chick-fil-A, housed in Upstein, from an avoided eatery to a nonexistent one.
Hosted by change.org, her petition reads:
While Chick-fil-A denies having an “agenda against anyone,” an investigation by Equality Matters revealed that Chick-fil-A’s charitable arm, WinShape, donated nearly $2 million to anti-gay groups in 2009 alone. That $2 million supported groups such as Focus On The Family, Exodus International, and the Family Research Council. And New York City’s only Chick-fil-A is located in a cafeteria in a New York University dorm. NYU prides itself on being a diverse, open and inclusive campus community. Unfortunately, maintaining a contract with an anti-gay vendor like Chick-fil-A undermines what makes this university so great. While the NYU Student Senators Council recently voted not to remove vendors for political reasons, they did retain that the school could remove vendors that violate human or labor rights. As Secretary Clinton recently announced, “gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.” As such, I respectfully request that NYU remove Chick-fil-A from campus.
Posted on January 20th, the petition has already obtained 758 signatures.
Dworkoski felt compelled to take action against NYU because she saw a disconnection between the ideals of NYU and Chick-fil-A.
“The main reason I decided to go to NYU out of the many schools I applied to was because NYU is the only place I felt like I could truly fit in and the student body is incredibly diverse and accepting. This was really important to me in choosing schools and I expected that NYU would be completely accepting of all types of students.
“When I first heard that Chick-fil-A was anti-gay, I was really surprised that it had remained for so long despite the large number of LGBT students at NYU, so I decided to try and do something about it. That’s when I made the petition,” said Dworkoski.
“The reason I chose to do it on change.org is because it allows people from all around the world to sign, and they have. I haven’t created a physical petition, but many other students have been sharing the link on facebook, which has really helped get the word around,” said Dworkoski.
Dworkoski has encountered some frustrations. She said, “Some students disagree merely because they love the food at Chick-fil-A. This has been very hard.”
But Dworkoski is determined. “I hope to gain as many signatures as possible in order to put pressure on the university to remove Chick-fil-A. They need to take responsibility for their actions,” said Dworkoski. She is optimistic that within a few weeks the petition will reach 5,000 signatures.
[image via]
I just have a feeling that Dworkoski doesn’t love Chik-fil-a sandwiches like I do
Shit College Freshman Say After They Finished Their First Semester of College
“Homophobic chicken”? Really? This sort of exaggerated rhetoric is becoming far too common. If one doesn’t believe in gay marriage, that doesn’t make one homophobic. The organizations supported by the partners of Chik-fil-a define themselves by being “pro traditional marriage,” not “gay hating.”
What’s the difference, you ask? Isn’t there a logical step from being pro traditional marriage to gay hating? Well, sort of. Not really. The problem with these word inferences is that they make the steps far too easy, imperceptibly easy. These sort of word choices exaggerate political opinions and turn people with specific political stances into simplistic, morally repellant characters. Any sort of nuance is removed. Coming from the south, I know many people who do not support gay marriage for biblical reasons, yet believe that it is important to treat gay people with kindness, love, and human decency. They have gay friends. Their stance is arguably hypocritical, but it represents a tension between political doctrine and personal feelings. Many people are like this (I know libertarians who love government-created national parks, for example). So while its tempting and easy to call Chik-fil-a an organization that creates “homophobic chicken” for the sake of riling up moral anger, it is also a morally reprehensible journalistic mistake.
Let’s look at another example of rhetorical exaggeration. It is all too easy and common for the Religious Right to call people “pro-abortion” or “baby killers.” Yet anyone who has actually studied the stance knows that these are unfair labels. “But isn’t it a logical step between approving of a woman’s right to choose and being pro-abortion,” they ask? Well, no, not at all. The emphasis of the position is on CHOICE, not supporting the destruction of a baby in the womb. The labels are unfair and turn pro-choice people from thoughtful defenders of liberty into cartoonish sadists.
Therefore, word choice matters. Avoiding using heated rhetoric to turn people into exaggerated evil characters matters. Understanding the complexity of morality, politics, and ethics matters. Please, for the sake of fairness, use digression and aim for the truth.
Of all the Chicken Joints in all the world…
This petition is incredibly stupid. I’m giving my money because I enjoy eating Chick-Fil-A. The fact that they give $2 million dollars, or .1% of their gross revenue, to anti-gay groups does not change the fact that their food is delicious, and they produce a product we like to consume. Additionally, this petition creator should do a little more research. WinShape has given a total of $3 million to anti-gay groups since 2003, which would be approximately .01% of Chick-Fil-A’s revenue from 2003-2010. WinShape also donates money for college scholarships to underprivileged children as well as establishing stable homes for foster children. Oh my, how terrible…
If you’re going to take such a strong stance on politics of a fast food chain, you should try and be more consistent. Major companies like Target and Amazon contribute money to pro-corporation republican lobby groups to reduce corporate taxes. These groups often support anti-gay activities. However, they provide products and services that we use daily, so we ignore their political contributions. I wonder if this girl realizes this.
Stop being controversial and let us have our Chick-Fil-A!
Dworkoski’s allowed to take a stance on whatever she wants, especially something that has come up before in the politics of NYU, as demonstrated by the previous coverage Local has done for it. Its easy to just make fun of her flippantly (I’m looking at you, Abelardo), but let her stand what she stands for. I’m sorry that the mere sight of this article has forced y’all to write multi-paragraph responses defending a mediocre fast-food restaurant. If you don’t like the petition, then don’t sign it.
In response to a few comments, I’d like to point out that it is not the fact that Chick-fil-A is a Christian company that bothers me. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and in fact I support the fact that everyone has differing views. However, the problem with Chick-fil-A is that they have given money to organizations that try to fix gay people and force their opinions on others. One of the organizations that has received money from them is considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. There is a difference between simply not believing in homosexuality and trying to harm others and spread hate. This distinction is why Chick-fil-A should be removed.
I think it’s important to know whether the author would patronize Chik-fil-a if it weren’t for the company’s anti-gay leanings. For instance, if it turned out she were a vegetarian, I’d say it’s easy to encourage the boycott of a company you wouldn’t give your money to in the first place.
I like WinShape. I lived in the city where WinShape is based in, and if WinShape is the main reason people think Chick-Fil-A is homophobic, I’d like to point out that WinShape is not primarily an anti-gay organization. I know people who go to college only because Chick-Fil-A and WinShape offered them scholarships, and almost everyone I know from Rome have been to WinShape camps. Also, what else would you expect from a company that shuts down on Sundays so the employees can go to church?
How about we protest Shorter University, it is also located in Rome (right next to the Chick-Fil-A actually) and forcing its employees to sign anti-gay, Christian contracts.
I just want my Chick-Fil-A chicken…
@Nathan There’s a huge difference between the Religious Right calling pro-choice people “pro abortion” or “baby killers”, and calling Chickfila a gay hating company. Not supporting gay marriage does indeed make you homophobic. As does giving money to hate groups. And so does actively refusing to hire LGBTQ employees. Arguing that Chickfila isn’t anti-gay is ridiculous. Also, having gay friends doesn’t instantly make you not homophobic.
@Justin No one is saying that Chickfila and WinShape haven’t done some good, and okay, yeah, 3 million dollars is not a large percentage of their revenue. But 3 million dollars to hate groups is still not defensible. If they were to apologize, throw some money at gay rights groups, and stop being jerks about the whole gay thing, the petition would be over, and everyone could eat soggy chicken sandwiches and waffle fries in peace.
why are you guys rushing to defend a giant corporation that has a terrible record with groups that aren’t heterosexuals and christians? are you really that attached to your chickfila sauce?
Honestly, I think what Dworkoski is doing is extremely impressive and beneficial to the NYU community. Rather than use this as a public forum to bash her efforts, I would like to commend her for pointing out a flaw in NYU’s society. Thank you, Hillary, for highlighting the ignorance of not only the NYU administration, but the NYU community at large.
To all the haters:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhGo4Fk88uY
Why would I blow up the Chic Fil A? Chic Fil A is delicious!
Furthermore, food and politics don’t mix well. If the food is good and the people enjoy it no need to party poop.
Tom, you are correct in every single word you (and Aziz) have said. Food, and for that matter, services, do not mix well with politics. To address Matt, there are thousands of “giant corporations” that donate money to campaigns that push anti-gay agenda. 3M (the owners of Post-Its); Bed, Bath, & Beyond; Tyson; Pottery Barn; they all donate money to campaigns that push for lower corporate taxes which also happen to support more conservative views on marriage.
As a gay male, it doesn’t bother me that Chick-Fil-A donates a minuscule amount of money to anti-gay groups, primarily because gays can marry in New York, in spite of the fact that Chick-Fil-A is “being jerks about the whole gay thing”.
Next time you purchase a Post-It, buy textbooks on Amazon, wash your pottery barn duvet cover, or turn on your Bed, Bath, and Beyond lamp, think about where you’ve spent your money in the past. Is Chick-Fil-A really that threatening?
If people want to buy great food and support a group that empowers women, supports Planned Parenthood, and is accepting of trans* people I suggest y’all buy some girl scout cookies.
“Not supporting gay marriage does indeed make you homophobic”
Haha so now everyone who doesn’t support gay marriage (most of the 7 billion folks on Earth, which is why gay marriage is only legal in a handful of places) is automatically “homophobic”? I’m guessing you’re one of the people who think anyone who doesn’t support Obama is automatically “racist” too.
Before you blast me for being “homophobic” too, I’m a bisexual female who is supportive of gay marriage. I just hate the black-and-white thinking that seems so common in politics where the other side is automatically evil.
Justin, is 3 million really minuscule? I understand that it’s not like they’re pumping billions of dollars into these groups, but 3 million dollars is 3 million too many. And the difference between chickfila and all of those companies is that NYU isn’t directly paying any of them. Sure, they make a profit because they sell products that college students buy a lot of, but NYU isn’t directly supporting them. And not caring about chickfila promoting hate and supporting anti-gay agendas because it doesn’t affect us here in NY is ridiculous and selfish. No one at NYU is concerned or upset about this because it affects them personally, because it probably doesn’t. Gay rights aren’t in much danger here, but the hate groups that Chickfila gives to know that. These companies support ex-gay ministries, conversion camps, and repealing laws that give rights to LGBTQ individuals. Just because you’re not in any real danger of losing them here doesn’t mean they’re not in danger elsewhere.
Same-sex marriage is only performed in 7 states in the country. A same-sex couple can jointly adopt a child in about 20 states. You can be fired for being gay in about 25 states. Only 16 states protect gays and lesbians from housing discrimination. Only 31 states include sexual orientation in their hate crime laws, and more than a handful of states outright banned ‘sodomy’ until 2003. These states where LGBTQ people are still marginalized, that’s where this is a big deal.
Will getting rid of chickfila at NYU be a big deal or change anything drastically? Nope. Is it a little ridiculous to defend a company that supports groups that would like to strip away your rights and change you? A little bit, yeah. Seriously, the food isn’t even that good.
+1 Matt Hayes
Hey Sarah, yeah that’s exactly what I’m saying. Most of the world is probably pretty homophobic, which I can’t say from personal experience and I’m obviously not speaking for every single individual, but in a ton countries, homosexuality (particularly male homosexuality, I dunno why but lots of these bros are cool with lesbians) is illegal, or only recently legalized. Africa, the Middle East, parts of Asia, and a certain countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are particularly bad when it comes to gay rights. It’s probably safe to assume these countries are largely homophobic. In countries where homosexuality itself is legal, there’s still no promise that the country is going to be accepting or tolerant. Hating, not liking, or disapproving of homosexuals = homophobia.
idk where I implied that I thought anyone was a racist or anything like that. I wasn’t even calling anyone here homophobic. I just think it’s hard to find those shades of gray in something like this.
I’d appreciate it if you didn’t put words into my mouth or make assumptions about me. I haven’t made any personal attacks or gotten mad or made any assumptions of anyone’s politics/sexual orientation/religion/whatever and I’d appreciate it if you did the same mmmkay?