4,000 Urge NYU To Kick Chick-Fil-A Off Campus After Chain Gives $2M To Anti-Gay Groups

• New York University freshman leads campaign on Change.org calling on NYU to remove New York City’s only Chick-fil-A from campus cafeteria
• Student calls Chick-fil-A’s donations to anti-gay groups inconsistent with NYU values

Hillary Dworkoski, a freshman at NYU who is leading the campaign on Change.org, says supporting a company that funds anti-gay groups undermines NYU’s diverse campus community and is inconsistent with the university’s values.

“Out of all the schools I applied to, I picked NYU because I felt like I could truly fit in with the diverse and accepting campus community,” said Dworkoski, a bisexual student who launched the campaign on Change.org. “I was disturbed to find out that not only was NYU supporting an extremely anti-gay company, but it was also home to New York City's only Chick-fil-A restaurant. I knew I had to do something.”

Within a few days of launching her campaign, Dworkoski had recruited hundreds of supporters on Change.org, the world’s fastest growing platform for social change. She says the support she has received on campus has been overwhelming, though she has encountered a few people who disagree simply because they like Chick-fil-A’s food.

“I typically just ask those people what’s more important to them: waffle fries or human rights,” said Dworkoski.

“While Hillary may not be the first person to take on New York City’s only Chick-fil-A, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s the last,” said Change.org Campaign Manager Mark Anthony Dingbaum. “With no budget and armed with only a laptop, Hillary has amassed a student-powered campaign of more than 4,000 people, and she’s showing no signs of stopping until Chick-fil-A is removed from campus. She’s one indefatigable freshman.”

According to an investigation by Equality Matters, IRS 990 forms reveal that Chick-fil-A’s charitable arm, the WinShape Foundation, donated almost $2 million to anti-gay groups in 2009 alone, the most recent year for which public records are available. This money has supported a number of groups -- including Focus on the Family, Exodus International, and the Family Research Council -- that have aggressively worked to ban same-sex marriage, block hate crimes laws to protect LGBT people from violent crimes, and promote “conversion therapy” to “cure” LGBT people.

Live signature totals from Hillary Dworkoski’s campaign:
www.change.org/petitions/new-york-university-stop-serving-anti-gay-chick-fil-a-on-campus

Comments