Disney dance
“Smart drugs”
Salsa and Swing Society hold themed dance social
Looking at the side effects of study drugs
ARTS
BURLINGTON, VT
VTCYNIC.COM
VOL. 132
ISSUE 27
LIFE
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W E D N E S DAY, AP R I L 2 7, 2 0 1 6
Pike rewarded by Seth Rogen by bettina cataldi bcataldi@uvm.edu
To hear the deep-belly laugh of Seth Rogen reverberate through a cinema is a privilege not many receive in their lifetime. Unless, of course, you’re a member of UVM’s Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Rogen, an actor, comedian, charity founder and beloved pot icon, visited Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and Alpha Chi Omega sorority alongside his wife Lauren at Essex Cinema April 23. This year marks the third year in a row Pi Kappa Alpha and Alpha Chi Omega have won the Hilarity for Charity competition. They have raised $28,301 this year alone for Rogen’s Alzheimer’s foundation and over $70,000 cumulatively. Hilarity for Charity was started by Rogen and Miller after her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The organization originally started as a variety show to raise money, but has since expanded. “We started realizing that young people wanted a voice in Alzheimer’s that hadn’t necessarily been heard before,” Miller said. “So Hilarity for Charity became more than just a show - it became an organization, and
by sarah olsen solsen2@uvm.edu
Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller answer questions about their philanthropy, Hilarity for Charity, April 23. The charity raises money for Alzheimer’s disease research. PHIL CARRUTHERS/The Vermont Cynic we started this program so that young people didn’t have to feel sad and alone.” The fraternity’s interest in raising money for Alzheimer’s began three years ago when three triplets, seniors Ryan, John and Griffen Fox, lost their grandfather to the disease during their sophomore year. “We saw Seth testify before Congress and he talked about [Hilarity for Charity] and we thought it would be a great way to get involved [with the cause],”
Ryan Fox said. The fraternity frequently rents out Rasputin’s bar and charges a cover fee as a way to raise money for their team, in addition to hosting their annual talent show. Rogen described the brothers as “the Lakers of charity.” The morning, although originated for a serious cause, took a turn for the light hearted and humorous after a screening of Rogen’s AMC show “Preacher.” Members of the fraterni-
ty and sorority in the audience had an opportunity to ask Rogen an abundance of questions after the meet and greet. The Q&A session lasted almost half an hour. Rogen’s responses are reserved to the brothers and sisters who earned the opportunity to speak with him for their charitable efforts. Perhaps the most looming question is, will the brothers be able to win Hilarity for Charity for the fourth year in a row?
Burlington mall to be redeveloped by michelle phillips mphill15@uvm.edu
Students and Burlington residents may soon be able to live above the Burlington mall on Church Street. The Burlington Business Association gathered local businesses, nonprofits and organizations in front of the mall entrance on Church Street April 25 to speak about the benefits of developing downtown. The project will create at least 270 residences. Of these, 54 units will be “permanently affordable” under the City’s Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance. An additional 110 units will be devoted to Champlain College student housing, according to the press release. Permanently affordable housing means the apartments will have fixed rents and be available to low-income families, according to Burlington’s website. Junior Jordan Leabman expressed concerns over the price of the new housing. “I bet it’s going to be fucking
Police, race topic of new UVM study
(left to right) Architect Sherida Paulsen and property owner Don Sinex present their plans for the downtown mall renovation to the city council April 25. JEN RAMIREZ/The Vermont Cynic expensive,” Leabman said. She also said she does not want the Burlington skyline to change. Senior Sandy Halbing said she supports the idea of redevelopment. “It’s about time Burlington expanded a little bit,” Hallbing said. “There’s not even close to enough housing right now.” Construction will create more than 500 temporary con-
struction jobs and 900 permanent jobs in retail and office operations, according to the press release. Some of these jobs will be supported by proposed UVM Medical Center offices. “We’re looking forward to bringing many employees to our downtown offices and their activity downtown –like going out to lunch -- that goes along with that,” said John Brahm-
stead, CEO of the College of Medicine. Vermont Interfaith Action was supportive of new housing options. “Our main purpose is to affect systemic change and lift people out of poverty,” said Debbie Ingram, Vermont Interfaith’s executive director. “Providing jobs and housing will do both. We see this as a step for justice.”
A UVM economics professor presented a study to the Burlington City Council April 11 showing disparities in how people of different races are treated by Burlington police officers. Professor Stephanie Seguino has released three previous reports on this subject for various Vermont agencies, and has been working on this report, to be released April 27, with Cornell University professor Nancy Brooks since early January, Seguino said. The study focuses on anti-black bias, she said. African Americans make up 4.5 percent of the Burlington population, but were 18.8 percent of those pulled over by police officers for investigatory stops, according to the presentation. In an investigatory stop, a police officer pulls someone over because they may be suspicious of a civil offense, but have no hard evidence before pulling them over. Brooks and Seguino focused their study on this type of stop, as it gives police officers the most freedom of whom to stop and whom to search, Seguino said. Black drivers are 2.5 times more likely to be searched than white drivers, according to Seguino’s presentation. “Racial disparities within the Burlington Police Department is particularly severe among black males,” Seguino said at the meeting. The study is mostly policy research, Seguino said. That is why it was presented to the city council, because it is an oversight institution of the police department, she said. At the city council meeting, Police Chief Brandon del Pozo was asked by council members for a general response to the presentation. He said he found the differences between drivers receiving warnings and drivers receiving summons to be most troubling. “I think a person rolling through a stop sign or changing a lane without signaling, regardless of their race, deserves a warning or ticket at an equal rate,” del Pozo said at the meeting. From 2012 to 2015 there were only 52 accounts of African American drivers being searched, he said.