With a new way of thinking, the Boy Scouts of America has made the decision to allow girls into the program. After the new decision to let girls join the Boy Scouts, some complaints have risen in protest of the organization.

In October 2017, the Boy Scouts of America, or the BSA, openly came to the decision of recruiting girls into the 2018 program. The program claims it will continue with its guiding principles, and enabling the girls to participate will not affect the outcome.

“The historic decision comes after years of receiving requests from families and girls,” says the Boy Scouts of America. Girls are now able to participate in new ranks and activities, providing a reason for the request.

Girls are now allowed into the ranks and are able to join in some scouting activities. However, they can’t join the popular programs, such as the Cub Scouts, or earn the Eagle Scout ranking yet. The Eagle Scout rankings are the highest awards given out, and these can even help scouts when applying to college. Some Girl Scouts are now looking forward to being able to attempt the badge.

Despite the newfound ranks that girls are able to obtain, the reactions between the genders are mixed. Some think the decision fuels diverse communities, while others are unsure.

“Only Girl Scouts has the expertise to give girls and young women the tools they need for success,” says the Girl Scouts of America. They are among others that think the experiences that girls get from the Girl Scout program is something that could be more useful to them.

Even though there is still controversy with the reactions of the new changes, scouts have a greater opportunity to work together between genders and give girls and boys a different experience.

I believe that the new changes to the program will overall positively impact the community and scouts. Scouts will have a greater chance to learn skills they could not have learned on their own, such as being able to work together. Girls and boys will be able to work hand in hand to move forward in a task.

Another reason this change can be a positive outcome is that the scouts are moving forward. Boy Scouts have made changes to the recruitment, allowing gay and transgender troop leaders in 2015. This thinking can transfer into our community, creating more diversity.

“I feel that all genders should participate in Boy Scouts because it is an interesting activity which shouldn’t be limited to one certain gender,” said Jordan Chiu-Skow, an 8th grader and a current BSA member. He believes both girls and boys learn different skills from each scout program, and learning together will help strengthen their knowledge.

Other students think that is the problem, and say girls and boys should learn different skills, as they do now. Boy Scouts usually learn more survival skills and wilderness techniques, such as camping. Boys go on to teach merit badges and have more hands on experiences. On the other hand, the Girls Scouts usually work with the community and also help with the environment.

So, the skills each scout learns makes them unique to that program. Lauren Lesher, an 8th grader in Girl Scouts, understands the differences. “The main differences between the scouts is that Girl Scouts tend to lean more to be artistic and help communities.”

I believe that even though there are potential problems, by working together, the changes could help our scouts learn new skills while creating a diverse community.

Moving forward, the girls’ and boys’ values are similar. Michael Surbaugh the Chief Scout Executive, says, “The values of scouting — trustworthy, loyal, helpful, kind, brave and reverent, for example, — are important for young men and women.”