Rutgers to permanently cancel annual Rutgersfest concert
NEW BRUNSWICK — Rutgers University will permanently cancel Rutgersfest — its annual concert to mark the end of the school year — because the event has grown too dangerous, the school’s president said today.
Rutgers President Richard McCormick sent an e-mail to the campus community this afternoon announcing his decision to end the event after 30 years.
“With regret for the loss of a longstanding Rutgers tradition, and with admiration for the students who worked hard to plan and run the concert this year, I have decided that the university can no longer continue to hold Rutgersfest,” McCormick wrote.
Last week, New Brunswick police said the large crowds and heavy drinking at Rutgersfest contributed to several shootings, five injuries and 11 arrests in the area.
Pete Mangarella, New Brunswick’s police director, called the annual daylong free event “the worst thing of the year for the city of New Brunswick.” He blamed university officials for failing to address the city’s safety concerns.