Rutgers Newark & Camden should not be excluded from President Obama's commencement address

The Issue

The graduating students at Rutgers-Newark and Rutgers-Camden have long felt a sense of disenfranchisement compared to their peers at the New Brunswick campus be it in the courses and majors offered of the differences in requirements for the same majors. The news about President Obama speaking at the 2016 commencement ceremony during a momentous year in the University's history has yet again left us feeling secondary to the school and excluded. In a political climate where social injustice and inequality are rampant it is socially irresponsible to disengage graduating members of the Rutgers community, especially those who are graduating from schools in some of the most urban cities in the nation. On this historic occasion, moving graduation for all three schools to a larger venue to allow full participation seems like the more equitable solution; not only would it allow for unity for the university, but would create the largest graduation in the schools history making the event even more powerful than ever thought possible.
Victory
This petition made change with 673 supporters!

The Issue

The graduating students at Rutgers-Newark and Rutgers-Camden have long felt a sense of disenfranchisement compared to their peers at the New Brunswick campus be it in the courses and majors offered of the differences in requirements for the same majors. The news about President Obama speaking at the 2016 commencement ceremony during a momentous year in the University's history has yet again left us feeling secondary to the school and excluded. In a political climate where social injustice and inequality are rampant it is socially irresponsible to disengage graduating members of the Rutgers community, especially those who are graduating from schools in some of the most urban cities in the nation. On this historic occasion, moving graduation for all three schools to a larger venue to allow full participation seems like the more equitable solution; not only would it allow for unity for the university, but would create the largest graduation in the schools history making the event even more powerful than ever thought possible.

The Decision Makers

Peter Englot
Peter Englot
Chief of Staff - Rutgers Newark
Former U.S. Representative
2 Members
Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Former U.S. Representative
Donald M. Payne, Jr.
Former U.S. Representative
U.S. House of Representatives
2 Members
Bonnie Coleman
U.S. House of Representatives - New Jersey 12th Congressional District
Donald Norcross
U.S. House of Representatives - New Jersey 1st Congressional District
Barack Obama
Former President of the United States
Albio Sires
Former US House of Representatives - New Jersey-8

Petition Updates