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Adult leaders mixed on Boy Scouts’ inclusion of girls

4 min read
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Reports out of Irving, Texas, last week didn’t surprise Brian Krizner or Greg Tokar. They had an inkling that Boy Scouts of America was going to extend its membership to girls.

“It had been implemented everywhere else in the world but here. This was not a really big surprise, not a really big stretch,” said Krizner, scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 1385 and an adult leader in Girl Scout Troop 15235 of Canonsburg, entities that serve his son, Alexander, 19, and daughter, Jennifer, 13, respectively.

“I think the BSA is the last group in the (boy) scouting movement to include girls,” said Tokar, scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 1017 in South Franklin Township. “It’s very common in Europe. When we go to the World Jamboree, it’s very common.”

The BSA executive board voted unanimously last week to include girls in its program. Beginning next year, girls can join Cub Scouts (generally 7 to 10 years old), with each den being all-boy or all-girl. The organization also will launch a program for older girls in which they, too, can earn the Eagle Scout rank, the highest award for a Boy Scout. Plans for that are expected to be announced next year and implemented in 2019.

This is an expansion of the coed Exploring and Venturing programs BSA has offered since 1971, for ages 14 to 21 of both genders. Girls have traditionally participated in the Girl Scouts of the USA program, in which the Gold Award is the pinnacle of achievement.

While safely building fires has been a BSA tradition, the organization has become famous in recent years for putting them out. The organization did not allow gay youths to become members until January 2014, and banned gay men and women from being adult leaders until July 2015. Its latest decision prompted a blistering response from the Girl Scouts.

The four local BSA adult leaders interviewed for this story anticipated this decision at some point, although at least one is surprised by the timing. They cited decreasing numbers of Boy Scouts and providing opportunities for girls to participate in weeklong, high-adventure camping trips and earn BSA ranks among reasons for the change.

“They’re trying to grow numbers,” said Bob Champe, chairman of the Mingo Trails District, which governs Boy Scout troops in about two-thirds of Washington County – excluding parts of the Mon Valley.

“Mingo Trails is doing well this year, but over the last 10 years, the Boy Scouts in this area has lost a number of young men,” added Champe, owner of Shearer Heating and Air Conditioning of South Franklin.

Dave Anderson works with Mingo Trails and the Laurel Highlands Council, which oversees BSA activities in Western Pennsylvania, parts of West Virginia and western Maryland. He also has been involved with Venturing, and said adding girls “has been a hot topic,” but one to which he has no objection.

“I believe the high-adventure aspect is appealing (to girls),” he said. “In all fairness, Girl Scouts offers something different. Girls can pick and choose.”

Daniel Sullivan, director of development and marketing, said the Laurel Highlands Council “is incredibly supportive of opening our iconic program to girls. We value the programs of the Girl Scouts. We view our programs as complementary to those of the Girl Scouts, which are amazing.”

Two Girl Scout adult leaders from the region could not be reached for comment. The national organization, Girl Scouts of the USA, did not respond favorably in the aftermath of the Oct. 11 vote.

It told ABC News: “The Boy Scouts’ house is on fire. Instead of addressing systemic issues of continuing sexual assault, financial mismanagement and deficient programming, BSA’s senior management wants to add an accelerant to the house fire by recruiting girls.”

Then in a blog post that day, GSUSA said: “Girl Scouts is the best girl leadership organization in the world, created with and for girls. We believe strongly in the importance of the all-girl, girl-led, and girl-friendly environment that Girl Scouts provides, which creates a free space for girls to learn and thrive.”

The numbers of scouts – on both sides – may be declining. But they are formidable. There are an estimated 2.4 youths and 1 million adults participating in the BSA, which was founded in England in 1908 and in the United States in 1910. Girl Scouts of the USA, initiated in 1912, has about 1.8 million youth members.

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