The below is a response to the op-ed, “Badge of Dishonor,” which ran in The Westbury Times, Oct. 18-24 edition
As a scout leader involved in scouting for over 15 years and as a father of an Eagle Scout I just want to bring to your attention why the Boy Scouts have decided to let girls in. No, the Boy Scout program is not dying, but it is evolving as it should be. We are not the same scouting program that Baden Powell created over a hundred years ago of Scouts being a paramilitary group. With the BSA now accepting transgender scouts, it’s odd that the BSA is now more inclusive and does not let girls in the program. To truly be an inclusive organization it’s only natural that girls as well be included. Few countries in the world (164 at last count) segregate their scouting program like we do in the U.S. The Eagle Scout is the highest honor and award a Scout can achieve. It is a badge of honor for anyone to have and for employers to see and easily recognize on a resume.
But we’re not just about camping and hiking, our local TRCBSA Scout Council recently launched a STEM program with classes to help young people learn in a fun environment science-related programs, including coding, computer graphics, robotics and more. When my son and daughter were younger, they both were in the scouting program. Unfortunately my daughter lost interest and eventually fell out of the program as compared to her brother, who eventually became an Eagle Scout. If she was in the Boy Scout program with her brother, the results for her, I believe, may have ended up different.
—Alex Nuñez
