This fight is not new. 

9 years ago, a man by the name of Danial Douglas created the petition: Remove the Chick-Fil-A from EIU's MLK Union food court.

This mission did not fail, but the fight did become dormant.

That is why today, with our generation's newfound political passion and the rise of activist organizations on campus, including a strong, loud LGBT population, we shall call for the same damn thing and we shall win.

From the original petition: When asked about the company's stance on gay rights, Dan Cathy, the president of Chick-Fil-A stated: "Well, guilty as charged. We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that...we know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."

While many of us believe in the value of free speech - especially on college campuses - no publicly-funded university should not allow funds to be raised on campus in the name of hate groups.

From Sharifa Hurtault: It is for this reason that we believe that Eastern Illinois University should abolish its contract with Chick-Fil-A by the next calendar year and find a healthy and affordable alternative to take its place in our beloved Student Union. We cannot name this building in honor of a great civil rights martyr and then desecrate it by selling the products of a bigoted, hateful company. We cannot slap diversity, equity, and inclusion signs everywhere and then turn around and do business with a company so widely known for being anti-LGBTQ.

Let's do better EIU. I believe in us.