Penn students entertain kids for Halloween

"Trick or treat," yelled a little girl in a witch costume, her hand extended expectantly. Though it wasn't Halloween quite yet, more than 6,000 children from throughout the city gathered at the Philadelphia Zoo yesterday for "Boo at the Zoo," a program coordinated by 12 Wharton freshmen. Members of the special events section of Management 100, a required course for Wharton freshmen, chose "Boo at the Zoo" for their semester project. According to Jeff Snyder, a member of the Management class, the students set up booths throughout the zoo offering fun, games and candy for the 5,000 to 8,000 children who attended the event. The event has been held at the zoo for the past several years, drawing crowds of children and large corporate sponsors. The Management group was responsible for manning the booths as well recruiting members of the Penn and Drexel University communities to lend a helping hand. Management 100, formerly known as Wharton 101, must now be taken by all Wharton freshmen for a letter grade and a semester credit. "The new grading system improves the quality of our output," Snyder said. By making the course more serious, students and faculty said they hope to gain more respect from skeptics of Management 100. "People have said Management 100 is a token effort to give back to the community," Snyder added. "But we're also learning how to work together in groups. Such free communication is a valuable lesson." Members of the class were quite enthusiastic about the event. Wharton freshman Mike Friedman spent the day in a stuffy "Icee Bear" costume. Though he confessed to volunteering for the job out of "utter ignorance," he enjoyed himself despite the heat. "It's great -- the kids are really cute," he said after hugging a shy five-year old. The Management 100 team was not the only Wharton group participating in the festivities. The Bridges Program, a mentoring partnership between Wharton students and West Philadelphia youths, spent the day at the zoo as well. Rafique Symonette, a Wharton sophomore and a mentor in the program, pointed out that Wharton should not always be looked at as cut-throat, cold and competitive. "This whole day shows that Wharton has a softer side," he said.