SMU’s Chick-fil-A location, an ARAMARK operation, will be open to students and faculty alike at the start of the fall semester. (Sidney Hollingsworth/The Daily Campus)

Dan Cathy, the president of Chick-fil-A, has been raising eyebrows with his recent statements on marriage equality.

SMU students are now beginning to wonder if and how his statements will affect the on-campus Chick-fil-A.

In one of his many anti-marriage equality statements, Cathy said, “we’re inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage. And I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude that thinks we have the audacity to redefine what marriage is all about.”

The backlash is not just about his statements, but also the donations that followed.

After Cathy spoke his mind, Chick-fil-A held a “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.”

Herman Cain told Fox News that all the profits from this day were donated to anti-gay organizations.

“They are going do take a lot of the excess profits they got on that day and contribute it to the charitable organizations they support in even bigger numbers,” Cain said to Fox News.

He also added that the sales figures from the appreciation day were over $30 million.

Some colleges have responded by cutting ties with Chick-fil-A. At North Carolina’s Davidson College, 500 students signed a petition to stop serving Chick-fil-A at its monthly After Midnight events. Davidson College was the first college in a series that has decided to stop serving any Chick-fil-A items, in response to the petition.

Harvey Luna, co-president of SPECTRUM, sent over a statement about the issue of having a Chick-fil-A on-campus.

“While we respect and value the First Amendment rights of every American, we must not lose sight of what this issue is really about,” Luna said.

“Our concern with Chick-fil-A is not so much with Dan Cathy’s anti-marriage statement as with the company’s continued effort in donating millions of dollars to organizations that are classified as hate-groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and that actively discriminate and dehumanize LGBT people.”

“For a company that affirms the values of the organizations it financially supports – such as the criminalization of LGBT people and the abuse of young individuals with conversion therapy, a procedure classified as harmful by the American Psychological Association – shows nothing other than Chick-fil-A’s true values.”

He concluded by adding that “the actions of this company are deplorable and does not reflect the values of SMU. Therefore, it goes without saying that Spectrum does not an will not associate with Chick-fil-A.”

When asked about the Chick-fil-A on campus, SMU also sent a statement regarding the issue “SMU embraces diversity as a central strength and value and includes sexual orientation in its commitment to nondiscrimination. Because the Chick-fil-A is operated by ARAMARK, which manages SMU dining serices, workers at this location are employees of ARAMARK, which shares SMU’s commitment to nondiscrimination. At the same time, SMU values freedom of speech. With regard to the concern over the comments of a Chick-fil-A official, SMU believes that if the comments reflect personal views in the arena of free speech, and do not lead to discriminatory practices, then the right of that individual to express his of her views should be recognized.”

The statement continued to state “for this reason, there will be no change in the status of the campus Chick-Fil-A. SMU officials will continue to be available to speak with concerned students or others on this matter. In addition, ARAMARK will continue its normal procedures to gain feedback from customers as to dining preferences.”

Julie Wiksten, associate vice president of campus services, agreed with SMU’s official statement on the matter.

“The Chick-fil-A on campus is operated by ARAMARK, the company that manages SMU Dining Services.

As a contractor with the University, ARAMARK must follow SMU’s commitment to nondiscrimination. Chick-fil-A has been on campus since 2001 and has been a very popular national brand,” Wiksten said.

“We constantly assess all of our brands and services on campus to ensure they are providing product and services that our customers want.”