Kool-aid has a negative racial stereotype. So does watermelon.
They’re fairly widely recognized, hence the backlash.
Also, there is zero excuse for Ardamark to pay for such out of season things on a menu tinged with racism.
It’s not so much that I, personally, feel strongly— they literally fed the students stereotypes and as a result, people are losing their jobs. The menu offended a lot of students. And at the cost of college tuition, I don’t think students deserve to be disrespected in the cafeterias. Hell, even if it was free, no one deserves to feeel disrespected.