February 7, 2012 - 1:09am
This Week in History: Couple challenges A2 Domestic Partnership Ordinance
BY EMILY KASTL
20 years ago this week (February 10, 1992): A lawsuit filed against Ann Arbor’s domestic partnership ordinance — which allowed both heterosexual and homosexual partners to register with the City Clerk’s office — was dismissed, The Michigan Daily reported.
The ordinance was unanimously approved one year prior to the lawsuit and allowed for same-sex couples to receive some extended insurance benefits, including paid sick days to care for a partner. Fourteen couples in Ann Arbor were registered to receive benefits at the time.
Charles and Ellen Graham, the Ann Arbor couple that filed the lawsuit, claimed the ordinance was illegal because it allowed for extramarital affairs and sexual relationships between unmarried people, which were then illegal in Michigan. The couple specifically cited a relationship between two female city employees.
30 years ago this week (February 9, 1982): The murder trial for a former LSA student charged with fatally shooting two students in Bursley Residence Hall was delayed due to a conflict with Circuit Court Judge Ross Campbell’s vacation time.
The trial — originally scheduled for March 15 —was postponed until May 10, after Leo Kelly shot and killed Edward Siwik and Douglas McGreaham in the dorm’s 6th Douglas hallway with a sawed-off shotgun on April 17, 1981.
William Delhey, a prosecutor working on the case, said he was not happy with the delay because the longer it would take to have the trial, the more likely it would be that witnesses would forget details of the crime, the Daily reported.
As he awaited trial, Kelly was held in the Washtenaw County jail without bond. He also received psychiatric testing at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Ypsilanti.
70 years ago this week (February 11, 1942): With all eyes on World War II, University officials advised fraternities to scale back in every facet of their operations.
Assistant Dean Walter B. Rea said the University would not tolerate Greek-letter organizations that resembled “country clubs” during a time of war, the Daily reported. He urged fraternities to return to their fundamental purpose of philanthropy and high academic standards.
Rea recognized that social events were necessary during unsettling times, but asked that fraternities reduce the number of events they held as well as limit excessive spending and unnecessary frills. He also asked leaders of fraternities to turn their focus to events on campus related to the current war-time climate in lieu of extravagant parties.
Dean of Students Joseph A. Bursley also spoke out against the rushing practices employed by Greek organizations and asked that they be reconfigured to avoid disrupting academic endeavors at the start of each school year.
