Daily Briefs

Michigan fraternity sued over nonbinary and female members


ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A fraternity at the University of Michigan is being sued by its national organization after accepting women as members.

A federal judge is holding a hearing Thursday about whether to ease an Oct. 23 order that bars Michigan Sigma Phi from using the national fraternity's name and Greek letters.

Since 2016, Michigan Sigma Phi has accepted dozens of members who aren't men or who are nonbinary, a gender identity that is not strictly male or female, said Stephanie Stoneback, a graduate who was president in 2017-18.

"It did feel sort of like we were pioneering something," Stoneback told The Detroit News. "But honestly, it really just felt like I was joining a group of friends."

Sigma Phi Society, the New York-based national organization, said membership decisions in Ann Arbor are harming the group and its trademarks, according to its lawsuit in federal court in Detroit.

"In a nutshell, defendants want to continue to operate as a Sigma Phi chapter, identify as a Sigma Phi chapter, and use the trademarks — without following the rules. Respectfully, defendants cannot have it both ways," the lawsuit states.

Michigan Sigma Phi was struggling to find people to live in the fraternity house when it decided to expand membership.

"These are progressive University of Michigan fraternity members," said David Nacht, a lawyer for Michigan Sigma Phi. "That is not a phrase you hear often. These are people who are standing up for civil rights, inclusion and gender equality. And we just want to give them a right to do so and have a voice."

 

Court reschedules Public Administrative Hearing to Jan. 20
 

The Michigan Supreme Court announced that the  Public  Administrative  Hearing  previously  scheduled  for November  18,  2020  will now be held on Wednesday, January 20, 2021. A notice of the administrative matters on the agenda will be posted and circulated approximately four weeks before the hearing.

 

Governor Whitmer signs bills into law
 

On Wednesday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed House Bills 5756 and 5757 into law. The governor also vetoed House Bill 4476. 

House Bill 5756 and 5757  extend the validity of enhanced driver licenses, enhanced official state personal identification cards, and official state personal identification cards that expired on or after March 1, 2020. Each will now be valid until December 11, 2020. The bills also waive late fees for renewal of these cards. The bills were sponsored by Representative Mike Mueller, R-Linden.

House Bill 4476 was vetoed by the governor. The bill would have increased the threshold for certain competitive bidding contracts for a wide variety of local road projects, but also created a cap for certain projects. This would have effectively cancelled certain ongoing road maintenance projects. The bill was sponsored by Representative Gary Eisen, R-Saint Clair Township.


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