Co-Ed Scouting
Bill Warde (billw@OKWAY.OKSTATE.EDU)
Thu, 2 Feb 1995 11:04:21 -0600
Regarding the several comments on this subject, here's my two cents.
For a number of years we had an all female Explorer Post which
consisted of the local Senior Girl Scout Troop. The rules of the
Magic Empire Council GSA made it extremely difficult for the girls to
go on High Adventure trips of any kind, and so they did this through
their Explorer Post and BSA rules. This allowed them to go on our
Oucachita Trek (a three day backpacking experience in the Ouachita
Mountains in SE Oklahoma) and also on a trip through Texas to the
coast. It also allowed them to continue work towards their Gold award
as Senior Girl Scouts. The POst folded after about five years due to
a change in the interest of the girls in it who were no longer as
interested in the High Adventure options and so could live within the
GSA environment.
We have had several co-ed Explorer Groups which have functioned
normally within the regular BSA guidelines and taken Philmont trips,
and other High Adventure trips without any problems.
As a long time BSA leader, I think it is unfortunate that our sister
organization sees fit to impose rules that are so restrictive on the
girls who are interested in backpacking, etc. type activities that the
only convenient way is for them to leave GSA and join BSA. I do not
recall this problem when I was a scout in UK with the Girl Guide
program there at that time (1952- 1965) but I may not have been aware
of it. As an older scout (Senior Scout, Rover) we had many joint
activities with the Girl Guides including some camp outs. Generally
for the latter, the girls were on one side of the field under Girl
Guide leadership, and the boys on the other side under Boy SCout
leadership, and some dire threats made for being in the middle of the
field after about ten at night and before about 8 am.
I have no experience with the UK coed scouting program that exists at
present, since I crossed then pond in 1965 and have been involved with
BSA since then.
To some of the other matters, IF BSA goes coed, then the girls have
every right to earn Eagle along with the boys. I recall some
exclusionary rules when coed Exploring became the vogue which
prevented an Explorer form obtaining Eagle or being elected into the
OA as an Explorer. The boy had to be registered with a troop (in
addition to the Post) to qualify for these, and I belive that these
rules still apply. These rules would HAVE to be abolished if BSA goes
coed.
Personally, I see no NEED to go coed as long as we have an active GSA
program which serves the needs of the girls. Equally, I am not
opposed to it but do see that it requires a lot of study and the
benefit of the experience of our fellow scouts around the world who
currently operate in this manner. It may also reduce the number of
law suits against BSA regarding little girls wanting cub scout awards,
etc. (We had one of these in Norman, OK several years ago!)
Bill Warde
District Commissioner
Pawnee Bill District
Will Rogers Council
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