A plan by the University of Notre Dame to add Chick-fil-A to student dining options appears to have ruffled feathers on both the right and left wings.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Wednesday took to Twitter to crow his full allegiance to the fast-food giant, vowing to "go to war" if need be, after a pair of Fighting Irish students penned an open letter to the student newspaper, The Observer, calling from the school to backtrack.
Citing what they termed "Chick-fil-A’s long history of antagonism toward the LGBTQ+ community," students Tilly Keeven-Glascock and Joey Jegier cited "significant sums" donated over the years by Chick-fil-A or its CEO Dan Cathy to "groups that oppose LGBTQ+ rights."
"From 2003 to 2012, the restaurant’s charitable arm gave over $5 million to queerphobic groups, including groups supporting conversion therapy," the letter notes, adding that "Despite public outcry and promises to halt anti-LGBTQ+ donations, in 2017 the donations to anti-LGBTQ+ organizations resumed, including the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Paul Anderson Youth Home and the Salvation Army."
The open letter had been signed by about 180 current and former students and faculty members as of Thursday.
Left-leaning and pro-LGBTQ groups have long complained about donations by the fast-food giant, including a recent push by New York Democrats to ban the restaurant from the state's rest stops.
Graham, in a series of tweets, said, "I have always thought @NotreDame was one of the greatest universities in America, if not the world," but added, It’s disappointing to hear some ND students and faculty want to ban Chick-fil-A from doing business on campus because they disagree with the values held by the Chick-fil-A founders. What a dangerous precedent to set.
"I want everyone in South Carolina and across America to know I have Chick fil-A’s back. I hope we don’t have to, but I will go to war for the principles Chick fil-A stands for. Great food. Great service. Great values. God bless Chick fil-A!," Graham said.
The students' letter also objected to adding Chick-fil-A on the grounds that they said the restaurant employs "animal agriculture" and added that "factory farming is a deplorable system that Notre Dame should aim to avoid supporting," harming both the animals and workers involved.
Finally, they said the primary menu of chicken and potatoes was of little added value to students, and the fact that Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays gave them one less option on that day of the week.
Nevertheless, the great Notre Dame campus chicken fight appeared to be a goose egg as of Thursday afternoon. The Observer tweeted: BREAKING: Notre Dame will begin construction of Chick-fil-A on campus this fall as part of @NDCampusDining's retail dining master plan."