Like the Arab Spring protests of 2011 and the ongoing Occupy movement, the Rutgers-Camden uprising is utilizing social media to push back against the proposed shotgun wedding with Rowan University.
Gov. Christie's proposal, which also would force a divorce between the Camden campus and the rest of the Rutgers system, has inspired an anti-merger Facebook page and a second, more general information page where the combined membership as of this morning totals about 1,300.
Anti-mergerites also are busy Tweeting, disseminating information via the r2rmerge.com website; and signing an online petition against the plan (nearly 4,500 signatures and counting).
Meanwhile, at Rowan -- where not everyone is celebrating the prospect of the arranged marriage -- Provost Ali Houshmand is advising his staff to stay mum on the subject.
"While it is admirable that some of our colleagues are eager to learn more about Rutgers-Camden and its operations, we really need to resist the temptation to contact colleagues there," Houshmand says in a letter to Rowan managers. "Please ask your staff to respect Rutgers employees--during what is most certainly a difficult time for them--by not contacting them until a decision is made about the future of our institutions."