“As representatives of the Indian community at Binghamton University, we the Hindu Student Council, Indian International Student Union, and Indian Graduate Student Organization believe we have a moral obligation towards our community, serving to their best interests and guiding them to the best of our abilities. The consumption of certain meats (beef for Hindus, pork for Muslims) is considered a deep religious offence for those who practice these faiths. There are more bifurcations in these faiths, which may involve certain members of practicing faith to abstain from meat in general. We believe there must complete transparency in the description of foods sold; hence the valid negative response from the community at large regarding the mix up of the meats.

After being in correspondence with Sung Kim, owner of Chick-N-Bap, we have come to realization that what was committed was an honest mistake. From the numerous encounters our organizations had with Sung, we can sense the sincerity in his voice and saw an individual who was looking to rectify a mistake. It was at that point we realized the only lesson to gather from this incident is to have an understanding that there is more to the world than you may perceive. Knowledge is indeed power and indulging in knowledge about different cultures teaches one about humility and compassion towards other members of society. In a world this big and interconnected, one needs to make themselves aware, if not tolerant and respectful of other cultures.

With that being said, we would like to thank Sung Kim for his generous donation, which will be donated to SOS Children’s Village to impact hungry children in India, Broome County Urban League to develop local youth in the Binghamton community and help partially fund the Indian Graduate Student Organization’s yearly event HOLI.”

– Representatives from HSC, IISU, IGSO

Click here to read a letter from Sung Kim, founder of Chick-N-Bap