Shirinian and her lawyer, Robert Bigelow, attended the conference, along with Michael Fitzgerald and Mitchell Panter, who represent the university. Defendants Chancellor Donde Plowman, President Randy Boyd and Faculty Senate President Charles Noble did not attend.

Judge Katherine A. Crytzer scheduled the conference after cancelling a hearing on Shirinian’s motion for a temporary restraining order. The conference gave Crytzer a chance to discuss the filing of the temporary restraining order with both parties before adjudicating on the request.

“There is a significant lack of clarity and agreement regarding the scope of plaintiff’s ‘Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order And Expedited Hearing,’” Crytzer said in the order scheduling the conference.

Crytzer asked Bigelow where a viewpoint discrimination claim was made in the original complaint.

Bigelow said while the original complaint references the role Shirinian’s viewpoint, he believes, played in the university’s decision to terminate Shirinian, there is no directly stated viewpoint discrimination claim.

“Dr. Shirinian was treated differently because of the content of what she said, the viewpoint in what she said,” Bigelow said.

“We are going to be amending the complaint to add a viewpoint discrimination claim in addition to our current claims of retaliation,” Bigelow said.

By the end of the conference, Bigelow stated he will amend the original complaint to include a viewpoint discrimination claim.

While an amendment to include a viewpoint discrimination claim widens the scope of Shirinian’s complaint, it also increases the time the university has to respond to Shirinian. The university had until Dec. 16 to respond to the original complaint. Upon receiving the amended complaint, the university will have additional time to respond.

“Unfortunately that’s going to delay their current answer to the complaint, so we have to wait a little bit longer, which is OK,” Bigelow said.

Crytzer laid out the case’s next steps before adjourning the conference, saying once the amended complaint is filed, she will be in a position to reach a decision on the Temporary Restraining Order.

Shirinian, professor of anthropology, faces termination proceedings after commenting online about Charlie Kirk’s assassination in September, saying “the world is better off without him in it.” Shirinian has since filed a complaint against Plowman, Boyd and Noble in both their personal and official capacities.