Beef With Karcher : At UCI, Some View Proposed Carl’s Jr. as Political Poison

Carl Karcher got accepted at USC, but he’s having a tough time getting into UC Irvine.

When the University of California campus began talking with Carl Karcher Enterprises, the fast-food chain, about setting up a food trailer on campus, some students began to sizzle.

And now it appears that opposition to hamburger magnate Carl Karcher’s conservative politics could keep Carl’s Jr. off the Orange County campus.

Since UCI officials began negotiating with the Anaheim-based company in early January, the school has heard a chorus of complaints from members of groups ranging from the Gay and Lesbian Student Union to the Women’s Resource Center to Students Against Cruelty to Animals.

The situation in Irvine is a far cry from the company’s reception at the University of Southern California, where cramming took on a whole new meaning last spring when the company opened a Carl’s Jr. with much fanfare on the Los Angeles campus.

Only Company That Offered

UC Irvine plans to start expanding its student union in April and asked “every fast-food franchise that we knew about” to provide temporary food service on campus for as long as 18 months, said Chuck Pieper, associate vice chancellor of student affairs.

With USC to its credit, Carl’s Jr. seemed a natural. Karcher Enterprises also was the only company that offered.

But politics soon took precedence over lunch.

One objection raised by students was that while the company is an equal opportunity employer, it does not have an affirmative action policy. The university responded that Karcher Enterprises--like other campus food service providers--will have to agree to affirmatively promote women and minorities before it can sell its Famous Star burgers on campus.

But students found Carl’s unpalatable for other reasons.

Carl Karcher “has a strong reputation in Orange County for his opposition to minorities, women, gays and lesbians,” said Robert F. Gentry, associate dean of students and staff adviser to the Gay and Lesbian Student Union. “He’s a homophobe, a racist and a sexist,” added Napoleon Luistre, co-chairman of the Gay and Lesbian Student Union.

At an on-campus meeting this month with Karcher representatives, 30 to 50 students objected to Karcher’s $5,000 contribution to the 1978 Briggs Initiative that would have barred homosexuals from teaching in California public schools. (The initiative lost by a 2-1 margin.)

Some didn’t like his support of arch-conservative former state Sen. John G. Schmitz. Women claimed that Karcher, a staunch Catholic and father of 12, has opposed abortion, the Equal Rights Amendment and birth control programs.

Japanese students questioned Karcher’s alleged opposition to legislation to redress World War II grievances. For animal rights activists, it was the possibility that the company uses cattle and chickens that that were cruelly treated.

Karcher could not be reached, but a spokesman for the chain blamed much of the opposition on “misinformation.”

“People said we contributed to the La Rouche campaign, and we never gave a penny,” said Paul Mitchell, Karcher’s vice president of public relations. “Questions were raised, and we answered them all.”

Whether the beef keeps Carl’s Jr. off campus remains to be seen.

“It will depend on whether we can get together on a contract,” said Horace Mitchell, vice chancellor of student affairs. “We’ll determine whether or not we can work with them based on whether we can come to an agreement on the contract.”

Either way, some Anteaters probably won’t vary their diet. At least not to include Carl’s Jr. hamburgers.