Cynthia Newman, former dean of Rider University’s College of Business Administration, really loves Chick-fil-A and Jesus. In fact, the two are so entwined for her, she felt compelled to quit her job when the fast food outlet wasn’t chosen to open a franchise on campus.
She takes her chicken sandwiches so seriously, she said the decision not to allow the company on campus due to their history of supporting anti-LGBTQ causes felt “like I had been punched in the stomach.”
The university polled students and faculty to ask what chain they would like to see on campus. After some protest over the notoriously homophobic chicken chain’s inclusion, the school sent a separate survey that removed Chick-fil-A as an option.
Related: President Trump served Chick-fil-A to guests in the White House
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“I felt like I had been punched in the stomach when I read that statement because I am a very committed Christian,” Newman told the conservative news website Campus Reform. “I really felt it very personally.”
When the school gave employees talking points to explain their decision to exclude the chain instead of apologizing and changing their position, Newman said she knew she couldn’t stay.
“I am not willing to compromise my faith and Christian values and I will not be viewed as being in any way complicit when an affront is made to those values,” she said.
She said her views “mirror” the fast food chain’s.
No word yet on whether or not the company has offered her a job slinging waffle fries, but she does have management experience!
