NEW JERSEY – A New Jersey university dean is resigning after the school decided to ban Chick-fil-A as a restaurant on campus despite it being students’ top pick.
The university said in an email to students in November 2018 that the chain restaurant’s “corporate values have not sufficiently progressed enough to align with those of Rider.” Chick-fil-A has been under scrutiny since 2012 after CEO Dan Kathy defined marriage between a man and a woman.
Rider’s College of Business Dean Cynthia Newman declared her resignation on Feb. 14 and will go effective Aug. 31, according to Campus Reform Monday.
“I felt like I was punched in the stomach when I read that statement because I’m a very committed Christian and Chick-fil-A’s values, their corporate purpose statement is to glorify God in and to be faithful stewards in all that is entrusted to them and to have a positive influence on everyone who comes into contact with them and that mirrors my personal beliefs perfectly,” Newman said to Campus Reform.
Newman immediately contacted university leadership and asked them to apologize for the “offense in the statement they made to the campus community.” While there was no apology, Newman along with other officials were given talking points to respond to any critics of the university’s ban on Chick-fil-A.
Some of the talking points, obtained by Campus Reform, said the following:
- Openness to different views and beliefs is a fundamental value of the university, as is our belief to be inclusive to all cultures and ways of life, including those in the LGBTQ community
- We understand that some may disagree with the University’s decision, but please know that it was done with the intent to best promote campus where differences are appreciated, and where members of our community expect to experience dignity and respect
- This decision required a difficult assessment of competing interests – the desire to bring a new restaurant to campus and our values of inclusion
Newman said she could not go through with the talking points because the university did not apologize for the offense to Christian values.
She plans to teach marketing as a professor.
Rider did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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