Documenting Rutgers and Its History

In 2016, Rutgers University celebrated its 250th anniversary. However, the school is not technically 250 years old. Between the founding of Queens College and 2016, the school was shut down for over a decade. But we understand why people would ignore that fact — Rutgers is a pretty cool place and there are many reasons to celebrate it. On the other hand, the university’s current politics and history can inform the way we should seek to make it a better place.

Below you will find articles from the first few years of Muckgers that document Rutgers University’s proverbial nooks and crannies, including some topics that some may find critical. To those that feel so, we remind them that we seek to bring accountability and transparency to the institution and city that made Muckgers. We believe Rutgers University and New Brunswick, N.J. will be better for it.

Slavery & Academia: A Troubled History of Rutgers University

The founding fathers were slaveholders. New Jersey was one of the three largest slaveholding states outside of the American South. Much of Rutgers history is built on a foundation of oppression and exploitation. It’s time we change the conversation.

Then and Now: A Photographic History of Rutgers’s College Avenue Campus, Part 1

Since the founding of Queens College in 1766, the College Avenue campus has been ever-changing. In commemoration of the upcoming 250 year anniversary of Rutgers University, Muckgers contributor Elijah Reiss documented how the campus has changed since the 19th century in part one of this two-part series.

Then and Now: A Photographic History of Rutgers’ College Avenue Campus, Part 2

Since the founding of Queens College in 1766, the College Avenue campus has been ever-changing. In commemoration of the upcoming 250 year anniversary of Rutgers University, Muckgers contributor Elijah Reiss documented how the campus has changed since the 19th century in part two of this two-part series.

Bishop Quad Arches To Be Saved, Facilities Unveils New Renovation Designs

The main archways at the Quads. (Photo: Elijah Reiss)

In 2014, the university released plans for the renovation of Bishop Quads on the College Ave. campus. The plans called for the demolition of the archways between the dormitories, built in the 1920’s, according to Muckgers contributor Elijah Reiss. After a month-long battle for the preservation of the Bishop Quad archways, the arches were incorporated into the renovation.

Places and Spaces: Lucy Stone Hall or Lucy Stone Hell?

Lucy Stone Hall on the Livingston campus of Rutgers University is an interesting building, to say the least. In his Places and Spaces series, contributor Elijah Reiss documented some of Rutgers’s interesting buildings.

Places & Spaces: Legend of the Loree Bowling Alley

A bowling alley lays dormant in the depths of Loree Hall on the Cook/Douglass Campus of Rutgers University. Contributor Elijah Reiss documented the space that was allegedly closed off to the public in 2008.

Building For Success: A Synopsis of Rutgers’ Revitalization Efforts

Rutgers University’s effort to construct new campus infrastructure has been an expensive one. At the time of this report, 10 of those 14 Rutgers projects across the state had budgets of $10 million or more, and at least two with budgets of $100 million or more. Administrators assured concerned parties that none of these costs will affect university tuition and fees but it’s difficult to see how such expenditures will not — on some level — be passed off onto students.