Faced with a student petition seeking to drop Chick-fil-A from its lineup, Davidson College’s student-run Union Board says it will buy food from “alternative options” until the full board has a chance to discuss the issue after classes resume.

As we reported in July, a student petition is asking the board to stop buying food from the fast-food chain to protest Chick-fil-A’s donations to groups fighting gay marriage.

The Union Board said recently it would consider the petition and suspend purchases from Chick-fil-A until the full board can decide whether to make the decision permanent. Here’s an Aug. 2 statement from Adriana Nassar, Union Board President, and Cameron Joe, Union Board Vice President:

We reached out to the Union Board members to begin initial conversations but because the board operates on consensus decision-making, a final decision is being put off until we can have face to face conversations and gather more student input. Until a final decision is made, alternative options will be served at After Midnight and other Union Board events. The Davidson College Union Board is firmly committed to building an inclusive community that serves each member of our student body.

The full board will meet after classes at Davidson College resume Aug. 27.

Davidson student Ben Wiley started the petition in July. He said last week he views the suspension of Chick-fil-A as a partial victory, though he knows a final decision won’t come until the full board votes.

He says students should be concerned about the company’s spending on anti-gay causes – estimated at $5 million over the past decade or so. “We’re contributing to it,” Mr. Wiley told DavidsonNews.net last month.

For the past decade or so, Davidson’s Union Board has organized a late-night food-and-music event called After Midnight. The program happens once a month on a Saturday night at the college student union. Since 2002, After Midnight has brought in food from Chick-fil-A. In recent years, the Union Board has added other options, including Qdoba, Joel’s Sushi of Mooresville, and Bellacino’s pizza.

RELATED COVERAGE

July 30, 2012, “Student petition seeks to drop Chick-fil-A from late-night snacks”