Some fraternities may avoid their block seating in Sanford Stadium on Saturday after The Red & Black obtained open records detailing their seating charts.

“I know that some people had talked about doing that,” said Claudia Shamp, associate dean of Greek Life.

Shamp connected the rumored shuffle to The Red & Black’s open records request.

“[Fraternities] are very aware that [The Red & Black] requested the seating chart,” she said. “I would not guarantee that they are all going to be sitting where they’re assigned. It probably does have to do with the open records request.”

Shamp said fraternities may be reconsidering their seats for fear they would be responsible if something happened in their section.

“Something that would cause concern,” Shamp clarified.

The Red & Black filed for an open records request last week to determine how the approximately 2,000 seats designated as block seating would be distributed to the 20 fraternities who requested them.

After the request was filed, some fraternities were verbally informed of the request – which Shamp said is routine for open records requests.

She said she thought some fraternity members were concerned about the request and unsure why The Red & Black would want the information – especially after previous, intensive coverage regarding the block seating.

“There’s concern expressed about ‘Why do they want to know that?,’” she said.

“It’s building up, it’s building up, it’s building up, and it’s like ‘What’s the deal?’”

Interfraternity Council President Trevor Brightwell said he had not heard any concern from fraternity members.

“No one has expressed any concern to me, nor have they expressed any desire to sit anywhere else,” he said, adding that he was not worried about the open records request. “That’s ya’ll’s right, and I want you to be informed.”

His advice for fraternity members: “Go to the game, sit in your block and have a good weekend.”

In a Sept. 1 meeting, fraternities in attendance chose which seats they wanted based on the average GPA of Fall 2008 and Spring 2009. Fraternities with the highest grade point averages got to choose first.

The open records request listed sections, rows and seat numbers of all the fraternities who chose to participate in block seating: from scholastic frontrunners Alpha Epsilon Pi and Phi Gamma Delta – numbers one and two respectively – to numbers 19 and 20, Phi Kappa Psi and Alpha Gamma Rho.

Shamp said the Office of Greek Life did not have a stance regarding seating movement, and that it’s important to give the new system a chance to work out all the kinks.

“There are a lot of things that I think could be argued on all sides of this,” she said. “I just think that they want to come and enjoy a football game just like everybody else.”