Diving into that Panda Express orange chicken in your noon class might get the attention of your professor, but this time, they might do more than raise an eyebrow. You would be breaking a university policy.

Beginning today, a new policy prohibits the consumption of food and beverages other than water in university classrooms.

The initiative, developed through a group of faculty and Office of Physical Plant staff and approved by the president's council Aug. 14, is the last step in a series of efforts to keep food-related waste from littering classroom floors. Anyone caught violating the policy may be subject to disciplinary action through judicial affairs said Bill Mahon, Penn State spokesman.

To raise awareness of the policy, 40,000 free bottles of water will be distributed in front of 43 classroom buildings during the first and second days of classes.

"There's been an attempt for several years to get students to clean up after themselves," Mahon said. "The problem has been growing."

Facilities coordinator Robert Myrick said he has seen trash strewn across classroom floors.

"I've seen things like smashed muffins, potato chips spilled all over and ground into the carpet and entire lunches with parts eaten pushed under the chairs," he said. "We hate to do this. We want to be student friendly, but it's not student friendly with all that trash."

Some students were unaware that the policy was even enacted.

"I thought eating was allowed, but it's not going to be a big deal for me," Kyndra Vasi (freshman-accounting) said. "I wasn't used to eating in class in high school."

Others will miss their mid-lecture snacks.

"I drink tea and coffee in my morning classes. I never thought that would make a mess," Alison Maher (junior-political science and psychology) said. "I guess I won't be awake in class anymore."

While Myrick presented photos of the mess caused by food and beverages in the classroom to administrators, the possibility of expanding janitorial staff was discussed. The Office of Physical Plant employs a janitorial staff of 377 who clean the classrooms once a day.

"That would have been very expensive," Mahon said. "We felt that students would rather see the ban than an increase in tuition."

Starting with the "We Are" poster campaign encouraging students to deposit trash in proper receptacles, Mahon said the situation has escalated in past years to the creation of this policy.

After costly renovations of many of the old classrooms, concerns were voiced over maintaining the condition of the new property.

"We have spent a tremendous amount of money re-carpeting and making the rooms nicer for the educational experience," Deb Blythe, director of facilities, resources and planning, said. "Now we have these really nice facilities, and we are treating them worse than restaurants."

Though consumption is prohibited in educational rooms, the corridors outside these areas are not off limits to food and drink.

"In a classroom, you are faceless and nameless," Blythe said. "If you are standing in a hallway with everyone looking at you, you are less likely to dump your stuff on the floor."

In the past, similar efforts have been made to make students aware of the problem.

"A group collected all the trash they could find in the classrooms and put it in a big cage to show people what was out there," Blythe said.

Though some students' schedules do not allow time for formal dining, Blythe said the administration kept student interest in mind throughout the policy-making process.

"You don't want to sit next to a person eating pizza or spilling Coke on you, do you?" she said.