Chick-fil-A top choice with students for new restaurant at college. But school officials say no way.

Chick-fil-A was the top choice among students at New Jersey's Rider University for a new restaurant on campus, according to Campus Reform, which cited a student survey from last spring.

But despite students' collective desire, Rider officials looked past the survey and nixed Chick-fil-A because “their corporate values have not sufficiently progressed enough to align with those of Rider," Campus Reform added, citing a Nov. 1 email from the school to students the outlet obtained.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Rider officials added that the decision was part of an effort to “promote...inclusion for all people," Campus Reform said.

Chick-fil-A has long faced opposition from leftists due primarily to ownership's support for traditional marriage and corporate values with a decidedly Judaeo-Christian emphasis, such as staying closed on Sundays.

How did a conservative student leader react?

Julia Pickett, president of Rider's Young Americans for Liberty chapter, told the outlet she believes her school's decision isn't fair — but that Rider is private and can do what it wants.

But in regard to Rider nixing Chick-fil-A over the restaurant's corporate values, Pickett told Campus Reform that “they sell chicken, so as far as I am concerned that should be the focus."

She added to the outlet that Rider likely believed that bringing Chick-fil-A on the Lawrenceville campus "would cause unwanted controversy" and that "the easiest fix was to find another restaurant. I wish they would be honest about it though instead of trying to cover it as a deep offense to the school."

What did a Rider official have to say?

“It is important to me and to the university that all voices are heard," Rider Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Jan Friedman-Krupnick told Campus Reform. "There are a number of factors that contribute to a campus’ decision to invite a retail partner on campus. While Chick-fil-A is among other restaurants preferenced by Rider students, there are members of the community (faculty, staff, and students) who strongly opposed the option as well."

Chick-fil-A didn't immediately respond to the outlet's request for comment.

What's been happening in the Chick-fil-A world of late?

• Pittsburgh’s school board barred district employees and its schools from officially participating in a kids’ run sponsored by Chick-fil-A in a resolution passed last month — which left organizers of the Pittsburgh Marathon dumbfounded.
• And after Hurricane Florence hit the Carolinas in September, a Chick-fil-A location in the port city of Wilmington, North Carolina — which suffered a direct hit —prepared food for first responders and linemen working around the clock to restore power.
• Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was raked over the coals in June after he posted to social media that he had eaten at Chick-fil-A.
• When a power outage struck the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport last year, Chick-fil-A — on a Sunday, the one day each week every location is closed — got to work to feed hungry travelers.
• The restaurant opened its doors in 2016, again on a Sunday, to hand out free food to thousands of people waiting in line to donate blood after 49 people and dozens others were injured in a mass shooting at a gay nightclub.
• When tornadoes ravaged north Texas in 2016, the Christian-owned eatery prepared food on a Sunday to freely deliver to first responders and disaster response teams.