The Atrium became the site of a small demonstration Thursday afternoon when a group of Ball State students gathered with the goal of further educating their classmates about the LGBTQ movement and its ties to the Chick-fil-A controversy.
Senior acting major Macie Tonn organized the event with hopes of sparking a conversation with the university about the removal of Chick-fil-A from campus.
"It's not because we don't like their sandwiches or that they don't provide a good product," Tonn said. "It's that their product provides funding to the anti-gay organizations, and that is wrong. There is really no other way of saying it."
Many of Tonn's fellow theater department majors also came out to show their support.
Junior acting major Zach Tabor said he was advocating for Chick-fil-A's removal because he wanted the university to be a welcoming place for all people.
"I don't want people to walk into the Atrium and feel hatred," he said. "We all have something about us that can be picked on. But no one wants to feel unwelcome or unwanted. We just want to make Ball State as welcoming a campus as possible."
The group's original plan was to gather in front of Chick-fil-A to pass out links to a petition. However, university guidelines state that protests are not allowed inside academic buildings.
"We allow students to protest and demonstrate," said Jennifer Jones-Hall, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Director of Student Life. "But they need to be 60 feet from any entrances from academic building."
The policy also states that students need to file a two week notice before the organized demonstration takes place. Since Tonn's demonstration was put together only Wednesday night, Jones-Hall asked the students to relocate to the courtyard outside the Atrium.
"Nothing we do will ever be confrontational," Tabor said. "We ask students if they are willing to talk with us and if they aren't we walk away. We aren't going to go in there and yell at Chick-fil-A workers because it's not their fault. It's not this building [the Atrium's] fault."
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