Local reactions to girls being allowed in Boy Scouts

Girls joining Cub Scouts is a change that has been years in making for the Boy Scouts of America.

Indian Waters Council Scouting Director, Doug Stone, said this change has been discussed but he wasn’t expecting the announcement to be made Wednesday.

Under the new guidelines, local Scouting organizations can choose to have dens for girls and dens for boys, but not for both.

Under the plan announced today, Cub Scout Dens, the smallest unit, will be single-gender, either all-boys or all-girls.

The co-ed programs have been offered by the Boy Scouts since 1971.

KENS 5 talked to the Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas and they said that they don’t expect many changes to their program. “I wouldn’t say it’s for everybody, because if you’re going to join scouts there are things you have to do”. He said this decision will be able to serve entire families.

It’s a change Eagle Scout Greg Meyer can’t contain his excitement for. “It’s just a difference, so I think this will bring girls and boys together more”.

“There has to be a female adult leader there if there are girls, so there’s always someone comfortable to speak to”, said Vitela.

Alison Wilcox, Chief Operating Officer for Girl Scouts of Western New York, still feels that a girls-only environment is best for girls’ development.

“We are going to up the game when it comes to serving the girls needs and we have been doing that over the last several years particularly”, McKinnon said.

Some people in central in think the expansion is a great idea, but they’re interested to see how it will be implemented.

She is now a Line Leader for the Cub Scouts.

Girl Scouts president Kathy Hopkinah Hannan wrote earlier in 2017 to the Boy Scouts to oppose their expansion and accuse them of attempting to artificially shore up membership numbers. “He went camping, learned survival tips, and I think that is something that he’s kind of carried with him”, Morgan Naylor said.

According to Boy Scouts, a survey of parents not involved in scouting revealed strong interest in involving their daughters in the program, with 90 percent expressing interest in a program like Cub Scouts and 87 percent expressing interest in a program like Boy Scouts.

Today, Girls Scouts helps girls get opportunities in computer coding as well as teaching them about cybersecurity.

Starting in 2018, girls can start working on climbing the Boy Scout ladder to Eagle Scout. Do the Girl Scouts have a survival badge?

“It drives me insane”, he said.