by Levi Houtman

Recently a popular subject that has sparked many controversial debates is the fact that girls have been given the chance to join Boy Scouts. The 107-year-old organization announced that younger girls will now be allowed to join Cub Scouts and girls that are older will be able to reach the rank of Eagle Scout.

The request for girls to be able to join Boy Scouts has been present for the past few years. According to an interview done by CNN on the Boy Scouts of America group, they said “the expansion is also aimed at helping busy families consolidate programs for their children.”

I went around and asked current Boy Scouts about their thoughts on the decision of having girls be allowed to join their ranks.

Current Boy Scouts Kelly and Mason Herb have been in the organization for a large chunk of their life. When asked about his thoughts on girls being able to join along with boys, Kelly stated “I think it’s a good thing that’ll hopefully restore some good in today’s society. Being able to have girls and boys to work along together is something that you don’t see often much. Hopefully this proves beneficial.”

Fellow Boy Scout, Mason, followed on his brother’s statement by saying “It’s a real controversial topic, I hope it pans out to be a good decision.”

Parents of current Boy and Girl Scouts have stated their opinions on the idea. Several have been severely angered from the decision, while others have praised it. Jude Herb, mother to both Kelly and Mason stated, “Some girls don’t want to join girl scouts because of the feminine reputation that it has. It often gets the stereotype that they just sell cookies, but the organization offers a lot more than just that. A lot of people don’t quite hear about what they accomplish, because they are often pushed behind what Boy Scouts accomplish. Having girls being offered the opportunity to join Boy Scouts and to be able to be more in the media or to be able to gain more recognition seems like something that would be highly sought after. I have two daughters that could go and join the same organization and be able to do the same things as what their older brothers do. To me it seems like something that is beneficial towards the Boy Scouts, and I hope for the best between the two groups.”

For parents, having the choice to send all their children to the same Scouting group is easier than if they had to send their children to two separate places due to genders.