PISCATAWAY — The average Rutgers University undergraduate pays more than $2,600 in mandatory student fees each year on top of their tuition to help pay for computer labs, the school paper and hundreds of lectures, concerts and other campus events. If state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos has his way, students at New Jersey public colleges will be able to keep...
After Snooki was paid $32,000 to host two hour-long question-and-answers sessions at Rutgers, state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos said he wants legislation forcing public universities to approve all student-run events that carry fees.PISCATAWAY — The average Rutgers University undergraduate pays more than $2,600 in mandatory student fees each year on top of their tuition to help pay for computer labs, the school paper and hundreds of lectures, concerts and other campus events.
If state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos has his way, students at New Jersey public colleges will be able to keep some of that money in their pockets.
Inspired by last week’s appearance of "Jersey Shore" star Snooki at Rutgers University, Kyrillos (R-Monmouth) is planning to introduce legislation that would require students to "opt in" to paying a student activities fee when they pay their tuition.
Rutgers students made national headlines when they paid $32,000 for Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi to appear at two one-hour question-and-answer sessions on the Livingston campus in Piscataway. The students used a portion of their student activities fees to pay the reality star.
"Students ought not be forced to fund entertainment or events that they find objectionable," Kyrillos said. "There were a great deal of Rutgers students who I am certain were uninterested or flat out outraged by Ms. Polizzi’s appearance on campus."
The state senator called Snooki "a degenerate reality television star who offers neither useful advice nor any appreciable talents."
Under Kyrillos legislation, students would have to check a box on a form stating they want to contribute to a student activities fee when they pay their tuition. If the students don’t check the box, they don’t have to pay the fee.
"Higher education is already a substantial burden to students without being forced to pay for entertainment they find offensive or uninteresting," Kyrillos said. "If students can make a case for continued fees then let’s find a methodology for appropriate checks and balances so that money is not wasted."
Rutgers officials declined to comment on the proposed legislation Friday. The president of the Rutgers University Programming Association, the student group that spends student activities fees, did not return calls to comment.
Nearly 1,000 Rutgers students attended the two free Snooki appearances Mar. 31. The diminutive reality star — who told students to "study hard, but party harder" — was paid a total of $32,000 for the sold-out shows. However, some of her fee went to a comedian who moderated the show, her management and others involved in the booking, campus officials said.
Over the last few decades, student fees have risen steadily on New Jersey college campuses. At Rutgers, fees vary widely depending on a student’s major and campus. This year, the average in-state Rutgers student paid $2,633 in fees on top of $9,926 in annual tuition, campus officials said. In addition to student events, the fees pay for the health center, campus buses, university clubs and other activities.
At other New Jersey public four-year colleges, mandatory student fees ranged from $1,553 at Thomas Edison State College in Trenton to $4,408 at William Paterson University in Wayne this year, according to a data gathered by the state Commission on Higher Education.