We all know the story by now: Chick-fil-A president and COO Dan Cathy disclosed that he is “supportive of the family—the biblical definition of the family unit” in an interview. Add the fact that his company donates money to organizations that support anti-gay groups and you have a potent controversy, which can occur when you combine the divisive ingredients of God, politics, gay rights, money, chicken sandwiches and waffle fries.
Regardless of your stance on the issue, one thing has now become abundantly clear: the situation has gotten out of control here at Elon.
The Spectrum resolution calling for the removal of Chick-fil-A from campus and the decision by SGA (who voted 35-10) to pass the resolution for removal has led to national news coverage and intense debate among Elon students.
But SGA Executive President Darien Flowers recently exercised his power to veto and overruled the SGA vote. Despite the opportunity to overturn Flowers’ veto, SGA upheld his decision, albeit it by an incredibly slim margin of 21-22. It looks like Chick-fil-A may stay on campus after all.
Not to say that this issue is not worth fighting for or discussing. In fact, the debate on campus demonstrates that Elon students are smart and motivated enough to verbalize and defend their position. As a university, we should be proud of that. But there is a time and place for this issue and that time has thoroughly expired.
The controversy surrounding the decision and the subsequent responses has run its course. No more kiss-ins, and no more support Chick-fil-A groups. No more flyers above drinking fountains or ill-motivated Facebook groups. It is time for everybody at Elon to move on.
We, as students, need to take a step back and put this issue in to perspective with regard to not only our university but to other, more pressing, issues facing college students nationwide. College loans. Student debt. Unemployment, a saturated job market, and multiple foreign wars. These are the issues that all college students, be they LGBTQ or straight, should be worrying about. These are universal issues that affect all college students equally. Instead of focusing on Chick-fil-A, efforts must be made to address national issues that will continue to affect college students in the coming years.
The Chick-fil-A issue will not come to define our university. In the grand scheme of things, this is a very small chapter in Elon’s history: A small road bump in the midst of all that we’ve done and all that we will do as a university.
Will it be remembered? Of course it will. Was it an intensely debated issue on campus? Absolutely. But will it ultimately come to define or represent an entire section of Elon history? Will it leave a lasting legacy on our campus? No. No it will not.
As a university, we have a responsibility to building up our community, not tearing it apart. We must be able to recognize when a debate is devolving from productive and thoughtful discussion to bitter and divisive argument.
The time has come to leave the Chick-fil-A discussion behind and instead work to address the longer-reaching issues that affect Elon students.