What the hell is wrong with the world and an esteemed University like Rutgers when they are willing to pay Jersey Shore star Snooki $32,000 for a speaking event and lauded author Toni Morrison $30,000 for a commencement speech? We all understand the influence of pop culture but as a University what message is being sent to students when the monetary value of a prolific writer like Morrison is devalued in honor of the drinking and party mascot Snooki. Listen, I am a capitalist, I value and understand the importance of supply and demand but if a University is suppose to expand the minds of today’s youth and hopefully instill within them some ability to gauge intellectual value over superficial entertainment does this mean we are doomed? We have already seen through the last decades that the US slips and further down the educational totem pole below countries such as China, you have to wonder if it is the same epidemic that causes such massive obesity. Is it laziness, lack of priorities or a culture that values entertainment above all else. When teachers make a pittance and still fund their own classrooms, our priorities are way the heck out of line.
Parents of Rutgers students were none to happy that the Snooki appearance was paid out of the general fund which is part of tuition fees. What about students on financial aid, are we all paying for Snooki too? Toni Morrison a Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning author of more than 8 novels has done great things for literature and the voice of the African American Woman; to me, it’s like giving the finger to your grandmother. Will the future of tomorrow be filled with well rounded people that have respect for the sacredness of a journey well fought, hats off at the dinner table and all the disciplines that strung together a tapestry of greatness in this nation? I don’t know about you but it’s sure not looking too good from here.