No one will be permitted to camp out at Paternoville until 6 a.m. this Thursday due to safety concerns, according to a statement issued by Penn State last week.

Campers will have to remove their tents by 8 a.m. Saturday and are not permitted to bring extension cords, grills or alcohol, the press release said.

That didn't sit well with many students, including Chris Grassi, who said -- aside from education -- Paternoville has been the most important experience of his collegiate life.

"The university has an entire year, 12 months, to regulate, and they waited until halfway through the football season," said Grassi (sophomore - supply chain and information systems). "We weren't involved in the discussion, they announced it on an obscure Web site [live.psu.edu], and the university handled it poorly. That's what I'm most disturbed about."

While unclear who decided the change, it was not directly by the athletic department, assistant athletic director Jeff Nelson confirmed.

Penn State spokesperson Bill Mahon said Beaver Stadium was never intended to be a campsite and thought camping out Thursday was a reasonable compromise. Mahon said he didn't attend the meeting to determine Paternoville restrictions but said it was the "safety people's" decision that limiting days would prevent accidents.

Some students didn't realize they weren't allowed to camp outside the student section until police or Penn State officials arrived at the scene. Ben Wenk (senior-agroecology) was about to set up his tent around noon last Thursday when "an official from the Bryce Jordan Center" approached them, press release in hand, saying they couldn't be there. The police soon followed.

Campers who stuck around were warned of being fined if they didn't vacate the premises. Assistant Supervisor for University Police Mark Allen said the decision to limit Paternoville was in the best interest of the students. The temporary campsite was scaled back due to underage drinking, electrical hazards and other safety concerns, he said.

But those reasons didn't satisfy some Penn State faithfuls.

"That's been the university's whole selling point: 'We don't want kids getting electrocuted,' " said Wenk. "I didn't see anybody using that in the rain. We were there all week, and we were policing our ranks. And when things got out of hand, we called university police.

"Their reasoning was based on a bunch of ignorant misconceptions that's being spun as some sort of justification."

But electrocution doesn't seem to be a problem at Duke University, where Krzyzewskiville -- the men's basketball version of Paternoville -- takes place twice a season.

After all, according to Duke student and camper Michael Moore, the administration provides power outlets, wireless Internet and ethernet connections.

"I camped out for 43 days last year," he said, spreading that number out over two games.

Some 50 tents might be set up three weeks in advance of a game. And, as far as alcohol, Moore said it was more of a "Be responsible" message since "people are obviously drinking." Moore also said Duke started to crack down on alcohol the last few years -- for instance, beer pong tables are now prohibited.

At Duke, the student government controls and regulates Krzyzewskiville. At Penn State, Undergraduate Student Government president Nick Stathes said the students have no voice and weren't consulted last year or this year.

"This is a recurring trend with our university," he said. "If students don't stand up, if we don't stand up for our rights, we will continue to experience decisions made on our behalf that don't have our best interests in mind."

The press release also voiced concern over the fact it didn't want to take away class time from students. Wenk didn't understand that contention, saying Paternoville was "basically a 24-hour study hall with free food." Normally, a tent would consist of a large number of people, with the person without class occupying the tent.

It's odd, Wenk said, how Paternoville generated all this media attention and all this recognition for the university when all they really wanted were good seats.

"You'd never ask to be part of their little media circus or publicity rally and essentially they just came in and took our seats from us," Wenk said. "I felt absolutely betrayed. We were used and kinda kicked to the curb."

Vice President of Student Affairs Vicky Triponey and Penn State spokesman Steve MacCarthy didn't return calls made by The Daily Collegian. Herb Schmidt, athletic director for facilities, was reached by phone but declined comment, referring the issue to Mahon.

"It seems to be part of a growing trend. For as much as Graham Spanier talks about a student-centered university -- this'll be my ninth semester and from the time I've been a freshman until now, the students' part in this university just keeps going downhill," Wenk said.

"They're trying to sell it as a student-centered university. It's just another PR move. There's no backing to it. It's becoming more and more regulated year after year, and we're powerless to stop it."