Students Vote to Ban a Carl’s Jr.

Cal State Northridge students have narrowly voted to oppose establishment of a Carl’s Jr. on the campus, capping an acrimonious, yearlong debate over banning the fast-food outlet because of the conservative views of its founder, Carl N. Karcher.

However, only about 2,100 of the university’s 30,000 students voted in the non-binding referendum Tuesday and Wednesday, which some school officials said raised doubts about its validity. There were 1,093 votes against and 1,045 in favor of locating a Carl’s Jr. franchise in the school’s expanded bookstore complex.

The results were released Thursday as the Cal State Northridge Foundation’s 16-member board of trustees prepared to meet today to make a final decision on whether to pursue the franchise. The decision was deferred in September at the request of the board’s five student members, who asked for time to poll campus opinion.

Consideration of a Carl’s Jr. outlet began after a survey of 2,700 students by the foundation last spring showed it to be the top campus choice among a variety of hamburger franchises.

“We’re quite disappointed,” said Dean Calvo, food service manager for the foundation, which has spent about $20,000 in planning and design costs for the proposed franchise. “We thought it would be close, but we felt that there would be a majority, that it would be approved.”

Students opposed to the fast-food chain said they opposed Karcher for publicly supporting anti-abortion groups and an anti-homosexual ballot initiative and running a TV ad insensitive to American Indians.

Foundation board members and employees predicted that today’s vote will be close but will most likely reflect the referendum results, with a narrow defeat for the franchise. Some trustees said the small number who took part in the referendum may not accurately reveal campus opinion.