Chick-fil-A is known nationwide for serving up plenty of savory Southern goodness, but one New York University student feels the restaurant's offerings leave behind a sour taste.
California native and NYU freshman Hillary Dworkoski has launched a protest against the fast food chain, saying she is disturbed by the company's reported financial support of several groups with "anti-gay" motives, including Focus On The Family, Exodus International, and the Family Research Council.
A petition calling for the university to close its Chick-fil-A franchise, reportedly the only one in Manhattan, has attracted over 5,000 signatures since Dworkoski launched it in January.
"NYU prides itself on being a diverse, open and inclusive campus community," Dworkoski, who is identified by The Village Voice as being bisexual, writes in the petition. "That's one of the major reasons why I enrolled at NYU as a freshman last fall. Unfortunately, maintaining a contract with an anti-gay vendor like Chick-fil-A undermines what makes this university so great."
She goes on to note, "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."
Still, in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, company president Dan Cathy defended Chick-fil-A, calling blogosphere reports "folklore." Cathy, who is the son of company founder Truett Cathy, noted, "We're not anti-anybody. Our mission is to create raving fans."
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activists have previously staged protests at a number of the chain's locations throughout the country, including Chicago and Hollywood.