As most Indiana University Students have recently been informed, upon the recommendation of the RHA, President McRobbie has decided to close the Chick-fil-A location in the Herman B. Wells Library cafeteria.  This has created much discussion among students as to whether this decision has been made fairly. In less than 90 days, the Chick-fil-a location in the Wells Library will be closed. This is due to the Residence Hall Association having to make a decision after multiple petitions from the LGBT community about closing the popular restaurant.

The Chick-fil-A located in the Wells Library cafeteria was previously under contract with Sodexo, but recently management has been switched over to Residential Programs and Services. Once management was switched over the question of whether to renew the Chick-fil-A contract for the Wells Library location was brought to the attention of RPS Executive Director, Patrick Conner. Conner consulted with the students of the Residence Hall Association; nine out of eighteen people voted to discontinue the Wells Library Chick-fil-A location. If the Chick-fil-A were to remain open in the Wells Library, the location would be managed by RPS,  and  would be added to the list of dining locations that are accessible through meal points for both students and faculty. These eighteen people decided not only the company’s fate, but also the ultimate food selection for 46,000 students, and the faculty at IU. Those eighteen students are only .000391 percent of the student body. 

The multiple petitions to close Chick-fil-A on IU’s Campus from the LGBT society are what raised the question to RPS. These petitions argued that the restaurant should be shut down because of Chick-fil-A’s owner’s visible disagreement to same-sex marriage, Their argument is seen as valid because IU claims to be a welcoming campus to all race, gender, sexuality, and religion. Because of these two opposing views, the restaurant was closed. For arguments sake, Starbucks is notorious for entirely being against the 2nd amendment and strongly supporting gay marriage. Does this mean that IU is willing to remove all their Starbucks locations because of the beliefs of all Christians and gun-owners on this campus?

The undersigned below would like to reestablish that; Chick-fil-A is welcomed in the Herman B. Wells Library located within the Indiana University community. Though there may be some that may not agree with the ideas and beliefs of Chick-fil-A’s owner, we the undersigned would like to agree upon tolerance in the face of what some may consider intolerance. This is not to say that we who sign agree or disagree with Chick-fil-A’s stance on homosexuality, but instead that we believe in accepting all belief systems as put forth by our constitution.