Penn State students may be happy to have a larger presence inside Beaver Stadium, but not all are pleased with the athletic department's plans.

A day after the athletic department revealed there may be 800 more seats in the student section in 2011, many students were happy to see their number of seats grow, while alumni who may have to sit in different sections felt it was just one more way the athletic department was trying to make money.

"I think it's great that there are more seats in the student section," Paternoville Coordination Committee (PCC) President Alex Cohen said. "I've always been someone who said we need more students in the student section."

Cohen said his Paternoville experiences this year introduced him to many freshmen who have carried on the passion he and his predecessors inside the makeshift tent city had garnered so much attention for.

He said he talks to his friends at other big-time football schools, which gives him a better sense of just how dedicated Penn State fans are. Rewarding them, he said, was a great choice by the athletic department.

"I don't wanna brag, but we're some of the most knowledgeable fans in the country," Cohen said. "We're passionate, and in the end I think we really do deserve these 800 seats. There are tons of people on campus who would love to go to every Penn State football game, and to add 800 more seats is great."

But late arrivals by the students for the majority of Penn State's eight home games this season have alumni questioning that dedication.

"I don't care who sits anywhere, as long as they come to the game," Beth Jeziorski, a 1977 Penn State graduate, said. "If you're gonna buy tickets and not come, what's the point? And the student turnout this year was really bad."

Jeziorski is a Nittany Lion fan who has been going to games since her freshman year of college. A Nittany Lion Club member, she and her husband have enjoyed the Beaver Stadium experience for decades and are put off by the fact they may have to pay more money to maintain their seats in the upper deck near the south end zone.

Jeziorski's current section allows her to sit in a physical seat instead of the benches that make up much of the stadium.

"I'm done with bleachers," she said. "I'd have to see what they're asking before we could say one way or another if we're happy with it or not. I'm just floored they're giving more seats to students who aren't coming."

Students, meanwhile, have already begun mapping out ways to maintain some of their traditions with the new plans.

Cohen said Paternoville would still take place at Gate A, even though the athletic department's new plan would allow students to enter the stadium through Gates A and B.

The athletic department said it would welcome student input with what to do with the Blue Band's seating and with the new location of the "S"-Zone.

Cohen figured the Blue Band, currently situated on the even-numbered side of section SB, would relocate to its previous section, right above the south end zone tunnel. He also proposed an idea for a "P"-Zone and an "S"-Zone anchoring each end of the student section.

One potential setback for students would be the relocation of seniors, whose current location near the 40-yard line on the stadium's south side gives them a better view of the field than their new seats would.

"I can understand seniors wanting to be able to sit in better seats," said Kevin Cool (sophomore-supply chain management), who will be a senior when the changes take effect. "But 800 more students to see the game makes it worth it to give up a better viewing angle. That's a pretty significant amount of extra tickets. The more students to get to the game, the better off the stadium is."

Cohen, who recognized the athletic department's need to bring in more revenue during a recession, felt the new student seating would have a bigger impact on the game.

"When you have a team backed up into that end zone, they're dead," he said. "That's what I think about. We already have a great impact on the way the game is played. I think we're one of the few student sections in the country that can honestly say we impact the game. It's gonna bring students close to the field. It's gonna be very interesting.

"The athletic department, every decision they make is in the best interest of the teams, the school and the fans. I trust them," Cohen said.