NJ lawmaker: Why should students pay for Snooki?
Reality television star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi participates in a Wrestlemania XXVII press conference at the Hard Rock Cafe on March 30, 2011 in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)
TRENTON, N.J. >> One New Jersey lawmaker doesn’t think reality TV star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi is worth the $32,000 she was paid to dish her GTL — gym, tanning, laundry — lifestyle at Rutgers University.
State Sen. Joe Kyrillos (KER’-ill-lohs) says students attending public colleges shouldn’t be required to fund entertainment they find objectionable through mandatory activity fees.
Snooki last week was paid $2,000 more than the $30,000 the university is paying Nobel-winning novelist Toni Morrison to deliver the commencement address. The Republican lawmaker said he plans to sponsor legislation allowing students to opt into campus events requiring a fee.
The lawmaker, who does not represent "Jersey Shore" locale Seaside Heights, says he’s certain there were many Rutgers students who were uninterested or "flat out outraged" by Snooki’s appearance.
