Students at this university are raising a petition against 'fried food for homophobes

Heather Lorimer, an associate professor in genetics at Youngstown State University, helping further a Change.org petition aiming to shut down a local campus Chick-fil-A franchise for its "homophobic" behavior.

Lorimer, who spoke to Campus Reform, said that the restaurant is a veritable hotbed of "fried food for homophobes," and that she fully supports the petition created by students within the university.

She said, "I am a professor at YSU. I have not set foot up there since they became Chick-fil-A. A long time ago it used to be a respectable place where you could take an invited speaker out to lunch and even have table service. We now have no such place and I will not support Fried Food for Homophobes, which is what I think of Chick-fil-A.”

Lorimer continued, “Chick-fil-a is well known for its CEO's bigotry. Since it has been Chick-fil-A I have not set a foot in it.”

The petition reads:

"As most YSU students know, there are few places open on campus to get food past three. The main exception to this is the campus's Chick Fil A. More often than not, it's the only place to get food in the evenings.

Chick Fil A has faced controversy over the years for statements by its founder regarding members of the LGBT community. Although they have released an apology for the statement, it was recently found that Chick Fil A is still donating money to anti-LGBT organizations."

Calling for 200 signatures, the petition concludes:

"Obviously, replacing the Chick Fil A would not change the company's views or anything, but it would be an act of solidarity for the campus's LGBT students."

A spokesperson for YSU provided a statement to College Reform, claiming that the university has no plans to remove the Chick-fil-A from its campus. The statement read:

"The Chick-fil-A brand is pervasive on college and university campuses throughout the nation and is an extremely popular choice for our students at YSU, as well. As part of the YSU Culture of Community initiative, the university recently formed a new Inclusion and Awareness Committee to help us better appreciate our diversity and to help us work together to overcome and prevent societal divisions. We invite those with concerns about Chick-fil-A to join in Committee discussions and participate in efforts to promote and nurture respect and to develop a campus community where everyone feels safe and secure."