KU to host art contest for students to express 'anger' over campus Chick-fil-A

The University of Kansas announced an art contest titled “But the Chicken’s good…?”

The Sexuality and Gender Diversity Faculty & Staff Council and the KU Department of Visual Art are hosting the contest in March.

“In light of the controversy over the installation of Chick-fil-A in the Kansas memorial union, the SGDFS council would like to open up a campus conversation about the meaning of the brand” flyers said. 

[RELATED: KU faculty council BEGS university to kick Chick-fil-A to the curb]

The “guiding theme” of the contest is “But the chickens good...?” and both undergraduate and graduate students are invited to submit submissions that “explore...what the presence of Chick-fil-A on campus signifies to them.” The flyer also advertises prizes. 

“Some members of KU’s community have felt alienation and anger over the University’s financial investment in a company whose owner has expressed virulent homophobic views; others cite allegiance to the food’s tastiness or the lack of other inexpensive options,” reads the flyer.

[RELATED: Higher ed’s Chick-fil-A bans and boycotts are no match for fast food chain’s sales]

There has been outrage on Kansas’ campus ever since the announcement that construction for a new Chick-fil-A would begin on campus. This art contest will perpetuate that conversation. 

In a letter to the school, the faculty accused the company of discrimination toward the LGBTQ community. It argues that the highly visible Chick-fil-A on campus could harm the “physical, emotional, and mental well being of marginalized and LGBTQ people.”

Chick-fil-A is known for its Judeo-Christian values, most notably being closed on Sunday, the Christian Sabbath. Chick-fil-A’s conservative Christian president, Dan Cathy, has expressed his personal opposition to same-sex marriage, citing his Christian faith. 

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