The Boss hasn't been heard from yet, but New Jersey's top Democrat has weighed in on the merger of Rutgers-Camden and Rowan universities.
As a grassroots campaign to persuade Bruce Springsteen to join the anti-merger fray continued Monday, U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg asked U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to "review" Gov. Christie's proposal to amputate Rutgers-Camden from the statewide university and have the city campus absorbed by Glassboro-based Rowan.
"Suspicions have been raised that this decision has been crafted to benefit powerful political interests," Lautenberg wrote, an apparent reference to merger proponent and fellow Democrat George E. Norcross 3d, who's the force behind the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. The new institution, which opens later this year in downtown Camden, would be a marquee component of the merged university.
Lautenberg's letter is the latest salvo in the anti-merger battle, which has galvanized Rutgers-Camden students, alumni, and the larger community. The effort includes a video plea for Springsteen to "Please Help Rutgers-Camden."