This time, it’s the chicken sandwich. Recently, members of a very vocal group at the Pine believe that their right to purchase and devour the chicken sandwich has been infringed upon. At best, and at worst, it’s an over exaggeration of an issue that has the student body divided.

To put it simply, Chik-fil-A’s philanthropic actions directly contradict Pine Crest’s diversity statement.

News broke last summer that Chik-fil-A’s CEO, Dan T. Cathy, made several public statements defining the traditional family and that same-sex marriage “invited God’s judgement upon our nation.” In addition, Chik-fil-A donated millions of dollars to organizations like the Marriage & Family Foundation, Family Research Council and Exodus International.  These organizations have taken anti-gay stances and have gone so far as to utilize their relationship with Chik-fil-A to supporting anti-gay processes, such as gay-conversion therapy. Their donations to several groups that do not promote inclusivity are  in direct contradiction with Pine Crest’s diversity statement, stating that “in recognition that a diverse environment is desirable for excellent college preparatory education, Pine Crest School promotes and values diversity in backgrounds, talents, experiences, and opinions. As a community that honors and celebrates diversity, we endeavor to educate Pine Crest School students to value differences in the global community.”

In addition, the mission statement also states that it is Pine Crest’s goal “to develop the character, independence, and leadership of each student, and to provide a nurturing learning community that prepares students to meet the global challenges of our future”.

The uproar didn’t begin until an email was sent out early last week, praising administration for taking an action that had occurred months before.

“What happened was that a number of teachers and administrators saw Chik-fil-A at our school and they said that this could be a potential problem because of their human rights track record, and so, at a [GSA] meeting, [sponsor] Mrs. O’Brien mentioned that she had spoken to Mr. Clark, and the administration had removed Chik-fil-A from the campus. And I turned to [co-president] Matt Gerard, and I said ‘I think the school needs to know about this,’ because people might not notice it if it’s just gone. We sent an email out saying why Chik-fil-A was going to be removed from the campus, and the issue was that some students felt that infringed upon their freedom. But I’m glad we created the dialogue, I’m glad that there is now a discussion about it, and that was the point of the email,” says William Keiser, senior and co-president of the Gay-Straight Alliance at Pine Crest.

Another group was quick to respond to the sound outcry, led by senior Kent Haeffner.  His call for action began with a petition that has amassed nearly 211 signatures as of Tuesday, December 1oth.

“This isn’t a Republican or Democrat issue, the issue at hand is discrimination based upon political views…The administration chose to make it a political issue by stating in the email from the [Gay-Straight Alliance] that [the removal of Chik-fil-A] was due to ‘millions of dollars in political contributions to organizations that oppose LGBT rights.’ That doesn’t sound like something that has to do with human rights—that is discrimination based upon a company’s ownership’s political viewpoints. That’s fundamentally wrong. That’s not what this school is about, that’s not what this country is about, and that’s what we’re trying to stop from happening,” explains Kent Haeffner, senior and president of the Teenage Republicans Club.

As the debate continued from before school, to lunch, to even that class at the end of the day that you usually fall asleep in, Chik-fil-A seemed to be on everyone’s mind. It simply wasn’t escapable, as the campaign to bring back the infamous chicken sandwich even spread to social media.

Tension seemed to be settling for a few days, until an ICI-sponsored forum occurred on Tuesday, December 1oth during sixth period. Hosted by Type One Managing Editor, Alex Meade, six students with strong opinions on the issue participated in a roundtable discussion.  Seniors Louis Browne, Laura Herman, and William Keiser stood firmly behind the school’s decision, while seniors Kent Haeffner, Chase Navellier, and Chris Koppenhaver argued the case for Chik-fil-A at the Pine.  The topics discussed at the forum included a united student body, human rights, freedom of speech, viewpoint discrimination, and, of course, chicken sandwiches.

No matter how heated the discussion has become, Pine Crest administration is not going to reverse its decision. “…We made the decision not to have them on campus because their lack of inclusiveness was not appropriate for this school,” explained Mr. Clark, adding that he hopes students will refocus themselves on exams in the coming week.