UPDATE 4/25: Owing to concerns about security at Rogen’s appearance, we have removed any mention of its scheduled venue from this post. Please be aware that the screening is not open to the public, and its venue may change without notice.
In his new movie Neighbors, Canadian comedian Seth Rogen plays a nice family man who experiences hell on earth after he moves in next door to a rowdy college fraternity. In real life, Rogen’s relationship with a certain University of Vermont fraternity is a lot more cordial. So cordial, in fact, that he and his wife, actress Lauren Miller, will come to an undisclosed Burlington-area theater on Thursday, May 1, to host a special, private screening of Neighbors for the men of Pi Kappa Alpha.
How’d that happen? Well, Rogen and Miller are outspoken advocates of Alzheimer’s research — Miller’s mother was diagnosed with the disease at age 55 — and started the organization Hilarity for Charity to get Generation Y behind the cause. Part of that is a collegiate contest called HFC U, in which more than 270 campus organizations around the country vied to raise the most funds for the Alzheimer’s Association.
The winner? UVM’s Pi Kappa Alpha, with more than $27,000 raised. (HFC U collectively raised nearly $130,000 for Alzheimer’s research, according to an HFC press release.) Their prize is the special screening on Thursday, with Rogen and Miller in attendance for a Q&A.
Here are a WPTZ report and a Vermont Cynic article with details on the frat’s fundraising effort.
So if you happen to see Seth Rogen around town next Thursday, just act normal. Maybe you could ask him if he’s a freak or a geek, or how he feels about Vermont’s maple penis. Meanwhile, check out this video of the funnyman testifying before Congress about the need for Alzheimer’s research — a cause he’s pretty damn serious about.
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As a fraternity man, I’d like to start seeing the word Fraternity used rather than “frat” in your entries to Seven Days. A “frat” doesn’t volunteer thousands of hours annually to the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington, or to the family-run Cochrans Ski Area. A “frat” wouldn’t have bothered to organize one of the most successful fundraisers in UVM Fraternity & Sorority Life history. The Fraternities at the University of Vermont however, do all of the above and more.
I was not in a fraternity and went to a college that did not have Greek life. That said, the points made by Christopher Sikora should be seriously considered by the Vermont Legislature as they pursue what I believe is a wrong-headed move to remove tax exempt status for fraternities and sororities.
Thanks for your support Chris from South Burlington. Fortunately, this week it was announced by the Vermont Senate’s House Committee of Ways and Means that the provision to tax Fraternity and Sorority houses was removed from the bill.
In addition to that positive news, I appreciate this article from Margot Harrison. Fraternities* and Sororities at UVM work very hard on these fundraisers and community events for all the right reasons. Ask any member of any greek letter organization: we always appreciate articles that paint the right picture of what our hard working, goal-driven men and women do at UVM everyday.
The article by WPTZ regarding the tax exempt decision is listed directly here for your convenience –> http://www.wptz.com/news/vermont-new-york/burlington/fraternities-sororities-retain-taxexempt-status/25591764
*Not Frat’s
Seth,Thank you for being an advocate for Alzheimers. My Dad died this past August at the age of 79 from that nasty disease.