EDITORIAL: Acting childish

Penn football players should have signed kis' autographs even though they lost the game to Dartmouth. It is appalling that on Penn Youth Day, the players didn't have the courtesy to sign autographs for the children who attended the event. The Athletic Department has made a concerted effort to boost attendance at Penn sports games by sponsoring various community days. Youth Day activities included morning sports clinics, a pre-football game picnic and an autograph session. But by not making their scheduled public appearance, the football team conveyed the message that losing isn't the end of the world. The decision to cancel the event was made because Penn couldn't present a united team, since 22 players were either injured or dehydrated. But there are 55 other players that could have met the kids. And if the children noticed certain players were missing, their absence could have easily been explained. "I think the players should have signed autographs, like they said they would, whether they won or lost. It was just one game and probably the hardest in the whole season," Wheeling said in a letter to The Daily Pennsylvanian. Wheeling is one of many children who were let down by the Quakers no-show. According to his mother, Wheeling spent the car ride down to Franklin Field asking his parents if he could stay after the game to meet the players. And while another autograph session is scheduled for later in the season, it won't make up for the kids' initial disappointment. "I guess since Penn lost, the players thought that the kids wouldn't want their autographs. But we actually did," Wheeling wrote. And that is what the players should have realized before they decided not to come out of the locker room.