Scouts, arguably the best youth program in the United States, as of Wednesday, October 11th, are letting girls into the once-before all- boys program.

Yes, I have been in Girl Scouts since kindergarten, but early this year I decided to enroll into Venture Scouts. My brother, who is in Boy Scouts kept going on fun camping trips and having cool opportunities and I was invited to join in.  The program is very little know and not very popular. It is a co-ed program that takes girls and boys over 14 years of age on excursions to experience adventures. It is a brother program with Boy Scouts and many Boy Scouts are duel enrolled in both. I strongly believe that girls wanting to go on adventures with the scouts should take advantage of this program. The Venture Scouts program was made for this purpose. Younger girls wouldn’t be able to participate in these same opportunities, but it is for the better. The program requires more skills, like being able to wield a knife or handle fire, week-long hikes, carrying all of your supplies on your back, or getting down and dirty while going spelunking (Caving).

Some of the merit badges are more extreme, like Nautical Survival merit badge has a requirement where you canoe to a beach and sleep on the cold sand. Younger girls might slow down the group or even keep them from doing these events in order to accompany the whole group. That is why Venture Scouts only allows older girls.  The experience opened many doors that I wouldn’t be exposed to if I didn’t go to camp. Next year I am going to be a camp counselor for three weeks.  I had a very strong reaction once the news was broken about girls being welcomed into the Boy Scout curriculum.

Yes, I am a girl. Yes, a have been in many girls situations about wanting to do what the Boy Scouts do but, I believe that it is best to keep girls out of Boy Scouts. The programs have been separate for over a hundred years. Why change the system now? Both programs focus on things that will benefit the people enrolled in it. The members can grow and learn in separate environments where they don’t have to feel judged by the opposite sex.  I thrived from the change, but others would crumble under it. Girl Scouts focuses on girls being leaders, if they joined Boy Scouts they would be following what the boys are doing or the boys would be following them; keeping them separate encourages working together for a common goal.

I encourage girls who want to be doing adventurous outings to find the right fit in a troop until they get of age to enroll in Venture Scouts. but don’t leave Girl Scouts in the dust. Complete your high awards because they look good on resumes and on college applications.

Sources: www.nytimes.com