Gossip: Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi

Rutgers University this week came under fire for paying Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi $32,000 to speak to a student group. New Jersey’s largest university admitted it paid the star of the hit reality show Jersey Shore $2,000 more than it is paying Nobel Prize–winning author Toni Morrison to deliver the school’s commencement address in May. “The students canvassed for who they wanted here and had the funds available,” said a spokesman for the university. Snooki’s advice to students: “Study hard, but party harder.”