Editor’s note: This is in response to the article “ASUNM votes to evict mor chikin,” published in Friday’s Daily Lobo. The article was about ASUNM’s vote to recommend kicking Chick-fil-A out of the SUB. ASUNM conducted a student survey about the restaurant and 85 percent of students surveyed said they wanted Chick-fil-A to stay. This week, the SUB Board will vote on the restaurant’s future in the SUB.
Editor,
The proposed ban on Chick-fil-A has aroused recent controversy.
Diversity, hate, anti-gay and other rhetoric seem to be the buzz words in the news around this issue. The question I’ve been asking myself is: “Since when do the peaceful religious convictions of a fast-food company’s president dictate whether his establishment stays on campus?” I could understand if portions of Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy’s profits were supporting gay-hate organizations — organizations aimed at discrimination or spreading hate-filled propaganda of people who are homosexual.
But, as far as I can see, Cathy’s Wingate Foundation is a church ministry whose mission is strengthening families and bringing about spiritual growth. Does the Wingate Foundation really qualify as an anti-gay organization? Why can’t a man have his own religious convictions, convictions that in no way, shape or form tread on the freedom and rights of those wanting a homosexual lifestyle? How do his convictions undermine diversity and tolerance?
Chris Parchert
UNM student
