Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / May 1, 2013, edition 1 / Page 6
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Wednesday, May 1,2013 • page 6 (and its symbolism) to remain on campus I .ast Thursday,JcfFStein, senior adviser to the president, sent out an email containing IClon University’s Boartl of! rustees’statement regarding Chick-hl-A’s presence on campus. 'Ihe Board explained how Elon’s response to the controversy was to create a 15-member Vendor Policy Study Committee.'Ihe Board studied the committee’s findings and considered all stakeholders before coming to a well-thought-out decision.'Ihey assured the student body of their pledge to dig deeper into the facts, their respect for human tlifferences and their commitment to understanding tlifferent points of view.lheir final tlecision is that Chick-fil-A will remain on our campus. While we applautl our administration for the creation of this committee, the extensive dialogue that was held and the new response system that has been put in place to confront incidents of iliscrimination, what this argument is missing is acknowledgment of the symbolic nature of Chick-fil-A on Elon’s campus. dhe Board listed three primary factors for its tlecision. 'lhe first one specified, “lEere is no actionable cause to remove Chick-fil-A from campus,” clarifying there is no evidence of iliscrimination regmling Chick-fil-A services. According to the Boanl, since the vendor does not actively (.liscriminate against its employees or its customers, its removal is not wiuranted. dhis ileeply discredits members of the Elon community who spent this school year professing to the committee and to Bo;ud members how the mere presence of Chick-fil-A represents hate, exclusion aiul humiliation, dhe LGBTQ_ community’s issue was not that Chick-fil-A actively discriminatetl on this campus.dlie email fiom the Board made it seem as if they hail accused the vendor of this. dhe real issue is symbolic and moiv pervasive. For some students, seeing people eating Chick-fil-A around campus is a constant i-eminder that the university has chosen politic;il intercsts over the ilignity of some of its students.'lEe Board cle;trly ignoaxl this fact and framed the debate in such a way that the symbolic nature of Chick-fil-A was never even aililivssed. Ibis is the civil rights issue of oiu: time. Atguments for keeping Chick-fil-A claim Elon AL DRAGO I Photo Editor should not be a place that restricts freedom of speech. They argue we can’t give in to the political beliefs of every person in our community. The Board’s email specifies it is “reluctant to put the University in a position of monitoring or making value judgments about the lawful philanthropic giving of vendor.”The letter went on to say, “Removing Chick-fil-A solely on the basis of the owners’stated views or their lawful philanthropic choices would stand in opposition to Elon’s mission statement, which encourages freedom of thought and liberty of conscience.” Removing Chick-fil-A would not restrict freedom of speech and doesn’t advocate giving iir to the political beliefs of every person in our community. What it does advocate is a campus that will not stand for inequality. Our Board likely wouldn’t host a vendor that ilonated to a campaign whose aim was to eliminate women’s suffrage or a vendor that allocated a part of its profits to promote Jim Crow laws that mandated segregation. So why iire we OK with a vendor that has supported organizations that believe being gay is a sin and have frinded conversion therapy? These lue all instances of discrimination. The only difference is our university and our country haven’t yet determined this is a type of discrimination for which we will not stand. The Supreme Court is currently deliberating on two pieces of legislation that will determine the fate of marriage equality in this country. Our country hasn’t advanced enough to see that discrimination is discrimination whether it’s because of the color of one’s skin, the number of one’s X chromosomes or one’s sexuality. Discrimination should not be supported on this campus or in this country. Where is the value in our university hosting a vendor whose presence symbolizes exclusion and discrimination for a portion of our community? Yes, everyone is welcome to their opinions, beliefs, philosophies and judgments. This is a university where we fully promote the free flow of ideas on our campus. What we should not promote are ideas that serve to discriminate against members of our community. We must draw the line somewhere and that line ought to be drawn at discrimination. A statement from the members of the Board claims they “desire that Elon be a safe and respectful environment for every member of the community.”The reality is the decision announced last week does not create this environment for the LGBTQcommunity and its allies. In fact, it doesn’t create this environment for any of us. If our university had chosen to remove Chick- fil-A, it would have made a statement that we are ahead of the times because we won’t stand for a type of discrimination that will one day be seen as unacceptable as racial segregation or the denial of women’s suffrage. THE PENDULUM Established 1974 The Pendulum is a daily operation that includes a newspaper, website, magazine and web show. Letters to the editor are welcome and should be typed, signed and emailed to pendulum@elon.edu as Word documents. The Pendulum reserves the right to edit obscene and potentialiy libelous material. Lengthy letters may be trimmed to fit. Ail submissions become the property of The Penduium and will not be returned. The Pendulum is iocated on the third floor of the Elon Town Center on Williamson Avenue. Editor-in-Chief Rebecca lannucci Managing Editor Jonathan Black News Editor Katherine Blunt i Jews Editor Ethan Smith Assistant News Editor Michael Bodley Opinions Editor Audrey Honwitz Assistant Opinions Editor Alex Francis international Editor Alana Romans Features Editor Kyra Gemberling Arts & Entertainment Editor Stephanie Butzer Sports Editor Andrew Wilson Assistant Sports Editor Matt Krause Social Media & Web Editor Mary Kate Brogan Photo Editor Al Drago Design Chief Kristen Case Copy Chief Tyler Oberle Business Manager Richard Segal Assistant Business Manager Courtney Vaughn Public Relations Director Emmy York Adviser Colin Donohue For a complete list of our staff, please visit ElonPendulum.com/staff.
Elon University Student Newspaper
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May 1, 2013, edition 1
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