If you woke up this morning and mused, You know, it’s been a while since I’ve been a part of an angry mob, it might just be your lucky day.

The Athletic Department is considering decreasing student seating in Beaver Stadium, says PennLive.

Sources close to the athletic department and Penn State’s board of trustees said the department is preparing mailings to Nittany Lion Club members to explain an increase in giving levels that will be required to retain current seats. Those who decline to give more money could be moved elsewhere in Beaver Stadium.

In order to accommodate some of the displaced, a section of the best student seats in Beaver Stadium will be taken from the undergrads and given to Nittany Lion Club donors.

You have to give a hand to the athletic department, who would complete the corporate bone-job trifecta by one – taking away seats from a population (the nation’s best student section) clamoring for more seating, two – taking the best part of what this section already has, and three – doing it all just to make a profit.

All hope may not be lost, however. Just today, the Collegian reported that the student section will actually be gaining 800 seats instead of losing some amount. Not only that, but the student section in its entirety would also shift westward. Ouch.

Effective at the beginning of the 2011 season, about 800 new seats would be available to Penn State students, [Associate Athletic Director Greg] Myford said. The student section would move from its current range of seats between the ED section and past the tunnel to seats between the EA and WA sections. That would include upper deck seating for students sitting in sections EA and WA.

So PennLive and the Daily Collegian are directly contradicting each other. Who is right? I’m inclined to believe the Collegian article, since it lists Myford as a source by name, as opposed to PennLive’s vague “sources close to the athletic department and Penn State’s board of trustees.” It’s also a pretty ambiguously worded article. “Taken from the undergrads and given to Nittany Lion Club donors” could simply mean a swapping of seats without a net loss to the student section.

I suppose we will find out soon if we should grab our “give us more seats!” picket signs or our “thank you for the additional seats but you moved the student section more to the west and I don’t know how to feel about that” picket signs.

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