The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Tuesday, February 3, 2015 — 3

DETROIT
Storm dumps most 
snow in 41 years

The rumble of plows and 

roar of blowers shook many 
neighborhoods in communities 
across parts of Michigan’s Lower 
Peninsula Monday as road crews 
and homeowners worked to dig 
out from 1½ feet of snow and the 
Detroit area’s biggest snowfall in 
four decades.

A slow-moving winter storm 

spanned about 24 hours after 
moving into southeast Michigan 
early Sunday morning. Coming 
with it were wind gusts that 
covered sidewalks, streets, roads 
and freeways with the quickly 
accumulating snow.

“It is Michigan. It is February,” 

Gina Nitz of Roseville told The 
Detroit News while waiting at a 
bus stop Monday morning to get 
to work. “I just hope this doesn’t 
mean winter will last until May.” 

Students 
at 
hundreds 
of 

Michigan 
schools 
got 
three-

day weekends. Morning shifts 
at some auto plants also were 
canceled, partly due to dangerous 
driving conditions. Police said 
freeway off-ramps were especially 
problematic. 

DENVER, COLORADO 
Colorado plunges 
into gun debate 

Senate Republicans advanced 

a bill to repeal expanded back-
ground checks for gun sales in 
Colorado.

The law took effect in 2013 and 

was one of the most hotly debated 
issues of the year when Democrats 
passed it.

At the time, they controlled 

both legislative chambers, but 
Republicans regained the Sen-
ate in November and have made 
undoing the law a priority.

The law expanded background 

checks to sales conducted online 
and between private sellers. 

HONG KONG 
Reports show no 
cuts in Aisian stocks

Most Asian stock benchmarks 

were relatively subdued on Tues-
day as investors waited to see 
whether Australia’s central bank 
policymakers would announce an 
interest rate cut to help shore up 
economic growth.

KEEPING 
SCORE: 
Japan’s 

benchmark Nikkei 225 dipped 0.4 
percent to 17,479.92 while South 
Korea’s lost 0.3 percent to 1,947.14. 
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 
0.2 percent to 5,636.10 while Hong 
Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.1 per-
cent to 24,458.67. The Shanghai 
Composite Index on mainland 
China rose 0.8 percent to 3,153.43, 
rebounding a day after poor fac-
tory data dragged down shares.

DECISION DOWN UNDER: 

There’s growing expectation that 
the Reserve Bank of Australia 
could announce a rate cut after its 
meeting today, following a recent 
surprise move by Canada, another 
commodity-producing 
country. 

With inflation easing as commod-
ity prices slump, policymakers 
have more space to maneuver to 
bolster economic growth by cut-
ting rates. But economists are 
doubtful that Australia needs to 
act just yet.

DONESTK, UKRAINE
Artillery fire kills 
at least 12 civilians 

Artillery fire killed at least 

12 civilians in the main rebel 
stronghold of Donetsk on Friday 
amid fierce fighting between 
pro-Russia separatists and gov-
ernment troops as hopes for a 
break in hostilities were dashed 
when an attempt to call a new 
round of peace talks failed.

Five people were killed as 

they were waiting for humani-
tarian aid outside a community 
center and two people were 
killed in the same neighborhood 
when a mortar shell landed near 
a bus stop.

By the time an Associated 

Press journalist arrived at the 
community center, the bodies 
were taken away. 

—Compiled from 
Daily wire reports 

NEWS BRIEFS

In the decision released 

Monday, 
the 
Sixth 
Circuit 

Court 
upheld 
the 
charges 

brought against Shirvell, but 
removed damages awarded for 
false light invasion of privacy 
— which consists of publishing 
information that casts another 
person in a false light — because 
the court found that the jury 
in the original case used the 
same statements as the basis for 
both the false light charge and 
another charge.

This reduced the total sum of 

the sanctions against Shirvell 
to $3.5 million.

In an interview Monday 

afternoon, Armstrong’s attor-
ney Deborah Gordon applaud-
ed the decision. She said based 
on Shirvell’s current financial 
state, she wasn’t sure if the full 
judgement would be recovered, 
but that the symbolic value of 
the ruling was also important.

“Andrew Shirvell is unem-

ployed, and as far as I know, 
he doesn’t have any assets,” 
she said. “So the odds of Chris 
Armstrong ever collecting the 
$3.5 million — not good, in my 
opinion. However, the judge-
ment is priceless. Because that 
was the jury speaking, and the 
jury represents our community. 
Chris did this because he had 
no alternative. Shirvell would 
not retract the disgusting lies 
he told about Chris. He took 
them to national T.V. So we 
had to turn to the jury system 
and the courts to clear Chris’s 
name, which has now hap-
pened.”

She said she wouldn’t be 

surprised if Shirvell chose 
to appeal, but added that she 
didn’t think it was realistic.

Reached by phone Monday 

afternoon, Shirvell said he had 
no comment at the moment on 
the ruling. In a 2012 interview 
following the initial district 
court ruling, however, he hint-
ed to the prospect of a Supreme 
Court appeal.

”(The case) will for sure be 

overturned on appeal either 
at the sixth circuit (court) in 
Cincinnati, or eventually at the 
U.S. Supreme Court — it may be 
a landmark First Amendment 
case,” Shirvell said at the time.

The ruling also touched on 

the appeal of a federal court’s 
decision last year to dismiss a 
counter-suit filed by Shirvell 
against Gordon. The coun-
ter-suit alleged that she had 
worked with the attorney gen-
eral’s office to fire him.

Authoring the opinion for 

the court, Federal Judge Julia 
Gibbons wrote that the appeal 
was frivolous, and also warned 
Shirvell against pursuing fur-
ther litigation in that direction.

“As time went on, it became 

increasingly 
clear 
that 

(Shirvell’s) claims amounted 
to nothing more than specula-
tion,” the opinion stated. “His 
failure to withdraw the allega-
tions violated Shirvell’s con-
tinuing duty of candor.”

In January of this year, in 

a separate case on the same 
incidents, the Michigan Court 
of Appeals also ruled against 
Shirvell, stating that he was 
not entitled to unemployment 
benefits after his termination. 
That ruling overturned a previ-
ous 2012 ruling by the Ingham 
County Circuit Court which 
said that the state could fire 
him, and he was entitled to the 
benefits.

At the time, Shirvell said in a 

statement that he would appeal 
that ruling to the Michigan 
Supreme Court.

Gordon 
said 
should 
the 

appeal occur, Monday’s deci-
sion could have an impact on 
that case as well.

“I think that it’ll be impor-

tant, as a matter of examining 
the law, that the Sixth Circuit 
court of Appeals has found 
that he violated the law,” Gor-
don said. “This whole idea of 
whether he should get unem-
ployment benefits or get his job 
back, in part it’s going to turn 
on did you do anything illegal? 
Then it’s kind of a done deal 
because you’re not entitled to 
unemployment.”

COURT
From Page 1

versity Plant Operations and 
the Office of Student Life via 
conference call. Ultimately, the 
group decided canceling classes 
would be the best move — a sug-
gestion that Washington ulti-
mately delivered to University 
President Mark Schlissel.

“Really 
recognizing 
that 

there is a significant number of 
University employees, faculty 
and staff who live elsewhere 
in Washtenaw County and 
beyond, and also recognizing 
that there are some students 
who are not necessarily in Ann 
Arbor … It was really that con-
sideration of what conditions 
could be,” Washington said.

The new system resulted 

from a task force to review 
University operation reduction 
procedures after some students, 
faculty and staff expressed 
concerns that the University 
did not cancel classes last year 
during a period of inclement 
weather in the first week of 
January, prompting a review of 
the University’s severe weather 
policy.

The 
University 
later 

announced a cold day in late 
January.

Following that cold day, Uni-

versity Provost Martha Pollack 
said in a Senate Advisory Com-
mittee on University Affairs 
meeting that policies then in 
place were not sufficient to 
address last-minute cancella-
tion of classes.

“By the time it became 

clear that we were facing an 
extraordinary weather event, 
we realized that we didn’t have 
appropriate 
mechanisms 
to 

close the University even if we 
wanted to,” she said. “Closing a 
university is more like closing a 
city than closing a building. You 
can’t just close; there is a hospi-
tal, there is a police force, there 
are students on campus who 
need to be fed.”

Though Monday’s snow day 

was the second cancellation of 
classes in the last year, Fitzger-
ald said closure will not likely 
become a yearly trend.

“I think what we have is real-

ly a coincidence of two winters,” 
he said. “What will happen in 
the future is just impossible to 
predict.”

WEATHER
From Page 1

months.

“In the weeks following 

the incident I have witnessed 
a great deal of patience and 
restraint through many peace-
ful demonstrations that have 
occurred,” Seto said. “I am 
grateful to be the police chief 
in a community where its citi-
zens can express their opinion 
in a peaceful and respectful 
manner.”

Demonstrators 
marched 

through Ann Arbor Saturday 
protesting 
police 
brutality 

and the prosecutor’s decision, 
which characterized the shoot-
ing as an act of “lawful self-
defense.”

The Council also addressed 

the city’s response to the 
severe weather and snow that 
accumulated over the week-

end. City Administrator Steve 
Powers noted that Ann Arbor 
has received 14 inches of snow 
in the past 28 hours, reportedly 
the third largest event two-day 
accumulation since 1970. Since 
Monday afternoon all major 
roads have been plowed twice.

“Our crews are working 

all hour shifts 24 hours a day 
and it’s expected that all local 
streets will be plowed by 1 p.m. 
on Tuesday,” he said.

Powers said the city will 

clean dead end streets and will 
follow with downtown alleys 
and clear snow from sidewalks, 
parking lots and lanes and 
parks.

The Council also unani-

mously approved a resolution 
that provided for Ann Arbor’s 
listing as a supporting munici-
pality in an amicus brief for 
DeBoer vs. Rick Snyder.

The case, which the U.S. 

Supreme Court added to its 

2015 docket in January, chal-
lenges the state’s ban on same-
sex marriage.

Ann Arbor Mayor Chris-

topher Taylor (D) noted that 
the city has supported amicus 
briefs from district courts and 
appellate courts all the way to 
the Supreme Court, and said he 
is delighted City Council has 
supported the defense of right 
to marriage.

“Equal protection of the law 

is fundamental to our soci-
ety and if what happens come 
June is what we all hope hap-
pens come June, then that will 
be good day and that principle 
will be ratified and moved for-
ward,” Taylor said.

Finally, 
City 
Council 

approved the DTE Energy Co. 
installation of a solar panel at 
the Ann Arbor Municipal Air-
port. The license is effective for 
20 years with the option of 10 
one-year renewals.

SETO
From Page 1

sity announced two of the IGR 
courses would also fulfill the 
Race and Ethnicity degree 
requirement.

Maxwell added that IGR is a 

valuable addition to any major, 
especially given her belief that 
students must become global 
citizens who know how to dis-
cuss complex issues pertaining 
to diversity and inequality.

“Students who earn a minor 

in intergroup relations educa-
tion will develop the insight 
and skills to lead diverse orga-
nizations and work effectively 
across differences,” she said.

Yiddish Studies

The Yiddish Studies minor 

was introduced in an effort to 
provide students with exten-
sive opportunities to study the 
Yiddish language and explore 
Yiddish culture from a per-
spective of a variety of disci-
plines.

Students interested in the 

minor must take Elementary 
Yiddish. 
Yiddish 
Lecturer 

Alexandra Hoffman said the 
language prerequisite is neces-
sary to give students basic com-
petence in reading, writing and 
communicating in the Yiddish 
language.

Hoffman added that the 

minor was created to showcase 
the expertise of the Univer-
sity’s Yiddish studies faculty, 
and to raise awareness about 
the language.

“Just like any language, 

Yiddish is a whole treasure 
chest to rich literature, music, 
poetry, novels and history,” she 
said. “Michigan is really a hub 
of pretty fantastic and excep-
tional Yiddish studies profes-
sors. We have three levels of 
Yiddish language instruction 
here, which is unique.”

Arab and Muslim Ameri-

can Culture

The Arab and Muslim Amer-

ican Culture minor is designed 
to address the cultural politics 
of being Arab or Muslim in the 
U.S., as well as the contribu-
tions of these groups to Ameri-
can Culture.

To 
complete 
the 
minor, 

which requires a 15-credit 
minimum, students take an 

introductory survey course in 
either Intro to Arab American 
Studies or The Middle East in 
Hollywood Cinema. Students 
then select additional courses 
offered by the Arab and Mus-
lim American Studies program.

Evelyn Alsultany, associate 

professor of American culture, 
wrote in an e-mail interview 
that the AMAS minor is unique 
to the University, the Univer-
sity of Michigan — Dearborn 
campus and San Francisco 
State University.

“We see the AMAS minor 

as a unique and important 
opportunity for students given 
the large demographic of Arab 
Americans and Muslim Ameri-
cans in Michigan and the 
current challenges to under-
standing Arab and Muslim 
identities in today’s political 
climate,” Alsultany wrote.

She 
said 
students 
have 

already 
started 
declaring 

minors in AMAS, and some of 
whom have told her the pro-
gram offers them the skills to 
develop a more complex analy-
sis of today’s social and politi-
cal issues, such as the “war on 
terror” and its representation 
in the media.

Art and Design

The Art and Design minor, 

offered through the School of 
Art and Design, is expected to 
have significant enrollment.

JoAnn McDaniel, assistant 

dean for undergraduate pro-
grams in the Art and Design 
School, said she foresees the 
minor will be limited by the 
amount of space that the 
school’s facilities offer.

“You can’t put 25 students 

into a studio class that is 
capped at 20 and works best for 
16,” she said. “If you’re in a lec-
ture class, you could just bring 
in some more chairs.”

The minor is an 18-credit 

program. There is one prereq-
uisite course, which can be a 
choice of a drawing course or a 
dimensional course, which can 
be fulfilled by several 2D and 
3D studio classes.

McDaniel said she hopes the 

minor program will be similar 
to the art major in that students 
can individualize their sched-
ule to create a minor that works 
for them.

“For instance, a student who 

is in environmental studies and 
really interested in sustainabil-
ity, they can do a minor in art 
and design with an emphasis on 
sustainability design,” McDan-
iel said. “If you were a creative 
writing student, you may find 
taking courses in graphic nar-
rative and electronic books can 
really broaden and deepen the 
scope of that minor.”

Entrepreneurship

The minor in Entrepreneur-

ship, offered through the Inno-
vate Blue program, aims to 
foster an entrepreneurial spirit 
in the classroom through part-
nerships with businesses and 
local organizations.

The minor is a 15-credit pro-

gram available to any sopho-
more-standing student with a 
declared major who is in good 
academic standing.

In addition to the 15-credit 

requirement, the minor also 
requires 
two 
semesters 
of 

substantial 
entrepreneurship 

focus through extracurricular 
activities.

The minor comprises six 

core credits that will establish 
fundamental knowledge in cre-
ativity, innovation and busi-
ness disciplines.

Beyond those requirements, 

students will take a mini-
mum three credits of elective 
courses that allow students to 
explore disciplinary areas in 
depth.

The final portion of the 

minor is a 6-credit immersion 
program. The “practicum” sec-
tion of the minor gives students 
the opportunity to experience 
real-world learning in front of 
a large audience.

Jeni Olney, Innovate Blue’s 

academic advisor, said the cre-
ation of the minor was a grass-
roots movement by students 
who wanted an entrepreneur-
ship curriculum on their tran-
script.

“What’s really great about 

the minor is that we have the 
ability to pull from the mul-
tidisciplinary strengths from 
the University,” Olney said. 
“It’s really exciting because 
the minor isn’t getting turned 
down by any of the schools 
or colleges at the University 
because they see the value of 
the minor.”

MINORS
From Page 1

down 
Michigan’s 
same-sex 

marriage ban, allowing more 
than 300 couples to obtain 
marriage licenses. Later, the 
Sixth Circuit Court ordered a 
stay and later upheld the ban.

The U.S. Supreme Court will 

review the case, as well as sim-
ilar cases from Kentucky, Ten-
nessee and Ohio, this spring.

Irwin said he first became 

interested in the legality of sec-
ond-parent adoption when he 
worked as a commissioner in 
Washtenaw County. He said, in 
2004, a local judge was grant-
ing adoption to same-sex par-
ents until the Michigan court 
caught wind and ruled that all 
judges were prohibited from 
such action.

Because of the “direct, local 

impact” Washtenaw County 
faced, Irwin saw the impor-
tance of granting second-par-
ent adoption and decided to 

pursue the issue throughout 
his career.

“It was a tragedy here at the 

local level and we were now 
not allowed to reflect our local 
responsibility,” he added.

He first introduced the bill 

to Michigan Congress in 2011 
upon winning a seat in the 
Michigan House that year.

Brad O’Conner, president 

of the Jim Toy Community 
Center, a resource for LGBTQ 
residents of Washtenaw Coun-
ty, lauded Irwin’s continual 
persistence in bringing up the 
issue in the face of continued 
pushback from opposing mem-
bers in the Michigan legisla-
ture.

O’Conner said by not pass-

ing this bill and similar bills, 
Republican 
representatives 

allow discrimination to persist 
within the state.

“They have no interest in 

passing this; they would rather 
go as far right as possible,” he 
said.

Irwin said the bill is mod-

eled after other states with 
similar laws, such as Oregon, 
California and Wisconsin.

Irwin added that though 

the discussion has become 
directed at LGBTQ couples, in 
reality there are many couples 
that would wish to second-
parent adopt, including other 
family members or unmarried 
straight couples.

“It’s very sad because once 

again you have parents who are 
trying to step up to adopt chil-
dren, in some cases very needy 
children, and the state is trying 
to prevent them from taking 
accountability for these kids,” 
he said.

O’Conner said even if same-

sex marriage is legalized in the 
state, there is still more work to 
be done for LGBTQ rights.

“We might have marriage 

equality but we still don’t have 
secondary adoption, we still 
don’t have protections in work-
place,” O’Conner said. “You can 
get married but you can still be 
fired for being gay.”

ADOPTION
From Page 1

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