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* Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, February 14, 2011
LEGAL DISPUTE
Reply calls
on Shirvell
to retract
statements
HALEY HOARD/Daily
Members of the Egyptian Student Association gather on the Diag Friday, Feb. 11 to celebrate former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's step down from power.
The students passed out candy to passersby as a symbol of the joyous occasion.
Students rejoice in wa e
of Mubaraks resig Onation
Armstrong to file
civil lawsuit if
libelous comments
aren't withdrawn
By KAITLIN WILLIAMS
Daily Staff Reporter
A document filed Friday has
brought the ongoing legal bat-
tle between Michigan Student
Assembly President Chris Arm-
strong and Andrew Shirvell,
a former Michigan assistant
attorney general, one step closer
to becoming a civil lawsuit.
Deborah Gordon, Arm-
strong's attorney, filed paper-
work Friday with the Attorney
Grievance Commission of Mich-
igan in reply to a response filed.
by Shirvell's attorney Philip
Thomas last month. Thomas's
response regarded Gordon's
original request for an investi-
gation of Shirvell.
Gordon said in an interview
Saturday that she and Arm-
strong plan to file a civil lawsuit
against Shirvell if he doesn't
publicly retract libelous state-
ments he's made about Arm-
strong. These -statements were
made on Shirvell's blog Chris
Armstrong Watch - on which
Shirvell wrote Armstrong was
encouraging a "radical homo-
sexual agenda" as MSA presi-
dent - and on national media
outlets like CNN's Anderson
Cooper 360.
"He's clearly done this in all
of these ways, and he needsto be
disciplined," Gordon said.
Shirvell was fired from the
Attorney General's office in
November following a com-
plaint filed by Gordon. The com-
plaint was in response to a series
of verbal and written assaults
against Armstrong by Shirvell.
Former Michigan Attor-
ney General Mike Cox wrote
in a statement at the time that
Shirvell "was fired for conduct
unbecoming a state employee.'
T is conduct included updating
his blog about Armstrong while
Shirvell was supposed to be
working and not being truthful
during a disciplinary hearing.
The reply Gordon filed Fri-
day states that Shirvell stepped
"beyond the well-defined limits
to the items the First Amend-
ment protects" when he posted
a swastika over an image of
,,Armstrong's face and called him
"racist" and "sexually promis-
cuous," among other libelous
See SHIRVELL, Page 5A
Egyptian
students celebrate
democracy on Diag
ByJOSEPH LICHTERMAN
Daily News Editor
The Diag was transformed
into Liberation Square on Fri-
day afternoon as members of
the University's Egyptian Stu-
dent Association celebrated the
overthrow of former Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak.
About 20 students took to
the Diag to rejoice and share
their joy with others on campus.
Many passed out Snickers bars
and other chocolates to students
walking by. LSA junior Eman
Abdelhadi said it's traditional to
pass out sweets on happy occa-
sions.
"Egyptians - and Arabs in
general - have this tradition
where they pass out treats at
good occasions," Abdelhadi
said. "At weddings, religious
occasions, Eids, like the holi-
days. This is an Eid. This is a
holiday, for sure. And we're just
so pumped that it happened."
After 18 days of anti-govern-
ment protests that swept across
Egypt and captivated the world,
Mubarak resigned Friday and
headed to the Red Sea resort
town of Sharm el-Sheikh. The
Egyptian military, which is
now in charge, dissolved parlia-
ment yesterday and called for
democratic elections within six
months.
"The idea of a democracy in
the Middle East, the idea of the
Middle Eastern people actu-
ally writing their own destinies,
actually making change come
about through popular revolt is
amazing," Abdelhadi said as she
handed out candy to passersby
on the Diag. "Anyone who stud-
ies Middle Eastern history is
just boggled by this. No one saw
this coming."
On Jan. 28, about 80 mem-
bers ofthe University communi-
ty gathered on the Diag to show
their support for the protest-
ers in Egypt. Rackham student
Sameh Tawfick said he didn't
See MUBARAK, Page 5A
UNIVERSITY RESEARCH BROTHERS BANQUET
Audi,'U' partner for Y
transportation study
Project to evaluate
crash, traffic and
parking statistics
By ANNA ROZENBERG
Daily StaffReporter
The automotive company
Audi recently partnered with
the University in an effort to
increase future transportation
safety.
The company selected the
University as one of four par-
ticipating institutions in the
Audi Urban Intelligence Assist
project, which will run for
three years and will evalu-
ate crash, traffic, parking and
pedestrian analysis.
Carol Flannagan, an assis-
tant research scientist in the
University's Transportation
Research Institute and one of
two principle investigators for
the project, said the University
signed a contract with Audi's
ownerVolkswagen ofAmerica,
and will be working primar-
ily with a Volkswagen office in
Southeast Michigan.
The initiative is focused on
developing more selective nav-
See AUDI, Page 5A
LECTURES ON CAMPUS
Former Skype CEO stresses
entrepreneurial leadership
TERRA MOLENGRAFF/Daily
American Culture Lecturer John Bacon, a renowned sports writer, speaks at Kappa Sigma fraternity's Founders Day Dinner
in the Michigan Union on Saturday, Feb.12.
GREEK LIFE
Pike donates $40,000 to Cancer Center
Silverman talks
challenges and
successes
By ADAM RUBENFIRE
Daily Staff Reporter
Former Skype CEO Josh
Silverman came back to his
hometown on Friday to give a
lecture as part of the Universi-
ty's "Entrepreneurship Hour"
series.
Born and raised in Ann
Arbor, Silverman began his talk
by discussing the importance
of leadership skills in entrepre-
neurial activities, as well as the
thought process and ambition
needed to start business.
"It's a privilege to get 400
energetic and talented people
in a room together and get a
chance to talk to them," Silver-
man told the crowd gathered in
Stamps Auditorium on North
Campus.
Entrepreneurs should be
civic leaders in their commu-
nities, Silverman said, noting
that he had originally wanted
to pursue a career in politics.
"I think that entrepreneurs
See SKYPE, Page SA
Money raised from
fraternity's annual
Rivalry Run
By K.C. WASSMAN
Daily Staff Reporter
The physical stress of a
90-mile relay run paid off on
Friday when members of the
Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity pre-
sented a check for more than
$40,000 to the University's
Comprehensive Cancer Center.
In November, 72 Pike broth-
ers teamed up with Ohio State
University's Pike chapter to par-
ticipate in the annual Rivalry
Run. The run began in Colum-
bus, Ohio - where this season's
game against Ohio State was
held - and ended in Ann Arbor
with the runners carrying the
game football the whole way.
Doreen McGuire, develop-
ment events coordinator at the
Cancer Center, praised Pike
for raising the large amount of
money. Though the center works
with other student groups,
McGuire said it rarely gets a
donation of this magnitude.
"This is one of the largest
gifts from a student group we've
ever had," McGuire said in an
interview after Pike presented
See PIKE, Page SA
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