Jersey “Shore” to Have Fun

By Marissa Babnew
Lifestyle Editor

Grab your sunglasses and Bumpits. The “Jersey Shore” cast will be making waves in Seaside Heights, NJ again this summer with the return of its MTV show for season two.

The gang, including the all-too-famous Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, “Pauly D” DelVecchio, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro,Vinny Guadagnino, Snooki Polizzi, Jenni “JWoww” Farley, and Sammi Giancola, will be living in the same house as last year from July 1 to Labor Day.

Last summer’s antics earned gold ratings with a record 4.8 million viewers watching the season finale, but they were not so admired by NJ locals. The cast of Italian-Americans caused quite a ruckus with their very public drunkenness and high profile sexcapades. Two cast members even managed to become embroiled in a lawsuit against MTV when they started throwing punches with some club-going shoobies. According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, there are mixed feelings about the cast’s return to Seaside.

It’s “not the show that the governing body would choose as a commercial for Seaside Heights, but…I think there are very few people who…think that’s what that whole town’s like…There are nice shots of the boardwalk and the beach,” said Seaside Heights Town Administrator, John Camera. Camera told the Inquirer that the town allows the cast to film on public property “as long as they don’t block traffic.”

It seems that as long as the cast keeps its wild behavior out of the streets and inside a bar, club, house, or any other four-walled structure, it is basically permitted to behave as it wishes.

Despite the group’s less-than-stellar reputation, some bar owners are excited about its return. Mike Carbone Jr., manager of the Beachcomber, the bar where Snooki was punched in the face, told the Inquirer, “In this economy, I don’t see how any publicity could be bad publicity. We’re definitely looking forward to having them.” Talk about desperation.

In preparation for what is sure to be a whirlwind return, the Jersey Shore Convention and Visitors’ Bureau is starting a campaign to promote social responsibility this summer. Executive director of the Bureau Robert Hilton said, “We understand people want to have a good time, but there’s a responsibility…to conduct ourselves in a way that doesn’t offend other people.”

Good luck Hilton, and god speed Seaside Heights. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.