Reality Rewards

Rutgers University Pays Jersey Shore’s Snooki More Than Toni Morrison

More than Nobel Prize-winner Toni Morrison.

It pays to be on reality TV. Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, the star of MTV’s hit series Jersey Shore, received $32,000 to speak to Rutgers University students Thursday—$2,000 more than Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, who is delivering the university’s upcoming commencement address, according to The Newark Star-Ledger. Snooki conducted two question-and-answer sessions Thursday night, drawing sold-out crowds of more than 500 students, who were taught how to fist pump and show off their abs. Several Rutgers students took to Twitter to voice their complaints about the diminutive guidette’s appearance. “My tuition dollars wasted on Snooki," one student wrote. "Rutgers probably could have paid her with a case of beer." Members of the Rutgers University Programming Association, meanwhile, defended the reality-TV star’s appearance. “We're trying to provide different kinds of experiences to students," said the group's president.