A group of University of Kansas faculty members is calling for the removal of Chick-fil-A from the school’s campus, calling America’s favorite fast-food restaurant a “bastion of bigotry.”

Chick-fil-A had operated in the basement of the university’s Wescoe Hall for the last 15 years but was moved to the student union earlier this year. With the move to a more prominent location and the recent implementation of the “Chick-fil-A Coin Toss” at the start of the school’s football games, representatives of the Sexuality & Gender Diversity Faculty and Staff Council said they became “very upset.”

Last week, the council sent a two-page letter to the chancellor, provost and university community demanding the removal of the restaurant.

“The arrival of Chick-fil-A in [the student union] building is insulting, counterproductive and unacceptable,” the letter read.

The letter also demands a promise from the chancellor, KU Athletics and the provost that the university will not renew the restaurant’s contract once it expires.

Franklin Graham addressed the situation on Facebook: “The Sexuality & Gender Diversity Faculty and Staff Council says Chick-fil-A ‘fosters hate and discrimination on multiple levels.’ That’s just simply not true. All of this is because the founder Truett Cathy and his son Dan Cathy stood for traditional marriage and the business has donated to support some Christian charities. Students are circulating a petition [in support of the restaurant] —I hope they will continue to speak up and keep their Chick-fil-A. This council and group of faculty are the ones fostering hate and bigotry, not Chick-fil-A!”

The petition Franklin mentioned was started by the university’s College Republicans group.

“Chick-fil-A doesn’t discriminate against the LGBTQ community,” said Garrett Miller, spokesman for the College Republicans. “Anybody can go in and get their chicken. If you don’t like Chick-fil-A, you can go somewhere else.”

Despite the controversy, KU students report that the Chick-fil-A on campus remains consistently packed “any time of day.”

Photo: Alamy.com