After a Catholic college’s internal battle over the presence of a Chick-fil-A restaurant made national news, the school has publicly affirmed that it is moving forward with plans to bring the popular fast-food chain to campus next year.
The confirmation came amid claims from concerned students that it would be a mistake for Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to bring in Chick-fil-A in light of the company’s stance in favor of traditional marriage.
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But while some students publicly slammed Chick-fil-A and expressed consternation, the school released a statement clarifying that the restaurant will, indeed, be part of the college’s dining options next school year.
“Duquesne University continually looks for ways to enhance the on-campus dining experience for its students,” read a university statement posted to Facebook last week. “Duquesne initially reached out to Chick-fil-A because of significant student interest in adding this dining option.”
Duquesne University Moving Forward with Chick-fil-ADuquesne University continually looks for ways to enhance the…
Posted by Duquesne University on Thursday, April 13, 2017
Thus, in light of that student interest, the school has no plans to abandon its quest to build a Chick-fil-A Express on campus, with the statement going on to say that officials expect it to be “an excellent dining amenity” for students.
Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring, with the restaurant opening to students in the fall.
News of the controversy initially spread after the Duke — the official student newspaper of Duquesne University — covered the brewing controversy last month in a piece titled, “Student Group Leaders Concerned About Duquesne Chick-fil-A,” noting that the fast-food issue was recently taken up at a March 26 student government meeting.
The outlet explains:
At the March 26 Student Government Association meeting, Senator at Large Niko Martini proposed that the SGA pass a resolution asking the university to reconsider the inclusion of Chick-fil-A as a dining option for students. […]
“Chick-fil-A has a questionable history on civil rights and human rights,” he said in a statement to The Duke. “I think it’s imperative the university chooses to do business with organizations that coincide with the [university’s] mission and expectations they give students regarding diversity and inclusion.”
The SGA Senate did not pass any resolution but agreed to consider an alternate resolution to vett the Chick-fil-A Express, which senators tabled for the April 9 SGA meeting to allow time to research the concerns.
These comments reportedly came after the school first announced on March 20 that a Chick-fil-A Express would be included in dining options next fall. Read more about the controversy here and here.
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