Bigotry from Rider U. administration — to Chick-fil-A (Opinion)

Social media blew up this weekend over Rider University's very wrongheaded and insensitive decision to overrule a campus vote to bring a Chick-fil-A restaurant to campus.

It's a private school and of course they are free to do what they wish. But where they went too far was the announcement that the reason for rejecting the No. 1 chain restaurant in the nation was because the university administration has as a problem with the values of the company.

Oh boy ... anti-Christian bigotry anyone?

Understanding that they sponsor Chime Time, on my show in the morning it's important to point out that even though I disagree and find the decision bigoted, I'm respectful of their right to advertise. That said, it would be irresponsible for me to ignore the issue -- an advertiser can't simple buy spots to avoid being addressed when they do something offensive.

It is simply not OK for an institution of higher learning to first open up a discussion and then override the majority decision. If they were going in that direction, why open it up in the first place? Sending out a second survey that excluded Chick-fil-A made them look even worse.

The disturbing part of this story is that they are getting away with labeling a position on traditional marriage, taken by the company owners, and shared with hundreds of millions of people of faith across the globe, including Christians and Muslims, and labeling it bigotry. The real bigotry is the fact that the school is fostering an anti-religious sentiment and hiding behind tolerance.

So in order to promote inclusiveness, you must exclude those that disagree? In order to promote tolerance you must not tolerate those that have a different opinion? That's the message from the administration at Rider. If you disagree with the secular version of marriage you are not welcome.

This is the wrong message for young minds being shaped and trained to be tomorrow's leaders. It's the wrong message for anyone who believes that America is about tolerance for different points of view.

Of course, Chick-fil-A really won't lose anything, this kind of discrimination doesn't hurt sale -- it actually seems to remind people to head over to their local restaurant for the best chicken anywhere.

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