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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
CELEBRATING OUR ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
If passed, children
of unmarried
couples would
receive benefits
By ALLANA AKHTAR
Daily Staff Reporter
State Rep. Jeff Irwin (D–Ann
Arbor) proposed a bill on Thurs-
day to legalize unwed, two-par-
ent adoption in Michigan. The
issue originally catalyzed what
is soon to be a U.S. Supreme
Court case, DeBoer v. Snyder,
challenging the constitutional-
ity of Michigan’s same-sex mar-
riage ban.
Before taking their case to
state and federal court, Hazel
Park residents April DeBoer and
Jayne Rowse were barred from
completing
a
second-parent
adoption for their child. Though
the two initially sought to chal-
lenge this law, the case shifted to
a broader consideration of same-
sex marriage.
A couple would opt for two-
parent adoption if one member
is either the biological parent of
a child or the sole legal guard-
ian in an adoption. The other
member of the couple would not
be either, but wishes to legally
adopt the child so as to officially
be recognized as its parent.
Irwin’s legislation, House Bill
4133, would guarantee the same
benefits to children of single
parents or unmarried couples
as those given to children of
married couples. These benefits
include health insurance, autho-
rization for medical care and
continued care by one parent in
case of the death or separation of
the other.
“Studies
have
shown
the
importance to children of main-
taining a safe, loving home with
two stable parents,” Irwin said
in a statement. “This bill will
ensure that more children in
Michigan can enjoy benefits of
two parents who share all of the
rights and responsibilities of
parenthood.”
In March 2014, U.S. District
Judge Bernard Friedman struck
New assessment
procedures led to
snow day decision
By MICHAEL SUGERMAN
Daily News Editor
In October, the University
reviewed and updated its guide-
lines for responding to severe
weather. The results of the eval-
uation process took full effect
Monday as classes were canceled
for a snow day.
Under this new protocol,
called the Emergency Reduction
in Operations, the University’s
Division of Public Safety and
Security spearheads evaluation
of whether canceling classes
is necessary, and reports their
assessment to the University
president, who makes the final
call.
In a release Sunday night,
DPSS Executive Director Eddie
Washington wrote that danger-
ous road conditions had played a
main role in his recommendation
to cancel classes.
“Snowfall totals of 12 to 18
inches with high winds are mak-
ing the roads dangerous, espe-
cially for the many faculty, staff
and students who live outside
the city of Ann Arbor,” he said.
University spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald said Monday that
Washington’s recommendation
was based on consultation with
numerous sources, including the
National Weather Service, the
city of Ann Arbor and Washt-
enaw County officials.
Washington
subsequently
relayed information to individu-
als from the Office of the Vice
President for Communications,
the office of the Provost, Uni-
RITA MORRIS/Daily
LSA freshman Lauren Hubbard and Kinesiology freshman Danni Doppelt enjoy their snow day Monday by sledding on trays down the hill across from Stamps
Auditorium.
Judge upholds
defamation lawsuit
against previous
state official
By SHOHAM GEVA
and EMMA KINERY
Daily News Editor and
Daily Staff Reporter
The U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Sixth Circuit upheld a defa-
mation lawsuit Monday against
Andrew Shirvell, former state
assistant attorney general, over
his harassment of a University
student.
Shirvell was accused of anti-
gay rhetoric against University
alum Chris Armstrong, the first
openly gay Michigan Student
Assembly president. The Michi-
gan Student Assembly is now
known as Central Student Gov-
ernment.
In 2010, Shirvell was fired after
creating a blog titled “Chris Arm-
strong Watch,” which argued
Armstrong was promoting a
“radical homosexual agenda.”
Mike Cox, Michigan’s attorney
general at the time, wrote that
the firing was not due to his exer-
cising of his First Amendment
rights, but for his “harassing con-
duct.”
In
2011,
Armstrong
sued
Shirvell for defamation. A year
later, Armstrong won the case,
which ordered that Shirvell pay
him $4.5 million in damages.
Shirvell appealed the decision
shortly thereafter.
Options expand to
include programs in
Yiddish, Intergroup
Relations, others
By CARLY NOAH
Daily Staff Reporter
From programs focused on
language and culture to art and
entrepreneurship, the College of
Literature Science and Arts is
offering five new minors begin-
ning this semester.
Three of these are completely
new and offered in LSA: Yid-
dish Studies, Arab and Muslim
American Culture, and Inter-
group Relations Education. The
other two — Art and Design and
Entrepreneurship — were not
formerly available to LSA stu-
dents, but have been officially
incorporated into the LSA cur-
riculum.
JoAnn Peraino, LSA curricu-
lum and enrollment manager,
said the qualifications for creat-
ing a new minor are often based
student interest, though mul-
tiple departments cannot offer
the same minor.
Peraino added that once a
minor has been created within
a department, the department is
responsible for overseeing that
the minor is attracting student
interest.
“If a minor doesn’t seem to be
taking off or one that has been
in existence for a while begins
to lose interest, we may retire
minors,” she said. “But they
typically stay on the books for
a long, long time. We haven’t
retired any in a long time
because all of our minors have
at least a few students in them.”
Intergroup Relations
Education
The minor in Intergroup
Relations
Education
focuses
on creating discussions around
issues of social identity, inequal-
ity and discrimination.
The minor, which is a mini-
mum of 19 credits and a maxi-
mum of 22, begins with students
enrolling in two core courses:
Intergroup Dialogues and Foun-
dations of Intergroup Relations.
Following those classes, stu-
dents must choose one of two
tracks — either the Facilitative
Leadership track or the Cam-
pus Communities and Research
track. Students also elect one
elective LSA course that is relat-
ed to intergroup relations and
complete the capstone course in
intergroup relations.
Kelly Maxwell, IGR co-direc-
tor, said the Intergroup Rela-
tions Department celebrated its
25th year in 2013.
“Last year our campus really
began talking about issues of
inclusion and became more
involved with student activism,”
Maxwell said. “It made us real-
ize that it’s time to formalize the
minor.”
Last year, members of the
University’s
Black
Student
Union lobbied administrators
to address a series of demands
designed to address stagnant
minority enrollment and cam-
pus climate, among other issues.
In November, the Univer-
Investigation
results presented
to City Council
Monday night
By ANASTASSIOS
ADAMOPOULOS
Daily Staff Reporter
During Monday’s meeting
of the Ann Arbor City Council,
Ann Arbor Police Chief John
Seto responded to the Washt-
enaw
County
Prosecutor’s
decision not to press criminal
charges against Ann Arbor
Police Officer David Ried
following the fatal shooting
of Ann Arbor resident Aura
Rosser.
The meeting also addressed
the city’s response to the pre-
vious weekend’s snowstorm,
as well as submitting an amic-
us brief in the case challeng-
ing the state’s ban on same-sex
marriage, which will be heard
by the U.S. Supreme Court in
the spring.
During the police chief’s
remarks,
Seto
expressed
his condolences to Rosser’s
friends and family and added
that Rosser’s death was a
tragic outcome of a justified
response. He noted that Ried
is a fine and professional offi-
cer with sound judgment.
Rosser was shot and killed
in November while two Ann
Arbor police officers were
responding to a report of
domestic violence. The pros-
ecutor’s report said Rosser
approached the officer’s with
a knife and declined to put it
down when asked by police.
“The community expects
its officers to resolve a wide
range of conflict,” Seto said.
“When doing so, they have a
duty to protect citizens who
are in danger and they have
a right to protect themselves.
Both were required of Officers
Ried and Raab on November
9.”
Seto said while the Ann
Arbor
Police
Department
awaits the delivery of 86 body
cameras, the department is
developing training and pol-
icy for the use of cameras by
police officers. He noted that
he has added diversity aware-
ness and autism awareness to
the department 2015 training
calendar. He also said he plans
to continue working with the
Ann Arbor Human Rights
Commission in the coming
DAVID SONG/Daily
Mayor Christopher Taylor discusses the city’s listing as a supporting municipality in an amicus brief for a Supreme
Court case, DeBoer vs. Rick Snyder, at City Hall Monday.
See COURT, Page 3
See SETO, Page 3
See MINORS, Page 3
See ADOPTION, Page 3
See WEATHER, Page 3
INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 59
©2015 The Michigan Daily
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WEATHER
TOMORROW
HI: 29
LO: 2
Legislation
could allow
two-parent
adoption
Updated severe weather
policy guided cancellation
LSA launches
new minors for
Winter 2015
Chief Seto talks decision
following Rosser shooting
Court rules
in favor of
former ‘U’
student
LAWSUIT
ACADEMICS
GOVERNMENT