Local scout leaders react to girls being allowed into Boy Scouts

The Boy Scouts of America made an announcement that is designed to attract new members after its numbers have been dwindling over the last couple of years.
News broke last Wednesday that the Boy Scouts will now accept girls as members for the first time in the organization’s 100-plus year history.
“The values of Scouting — trustworthy, loyal, helpful, kind, brave and reverent, for example — are important for both young men and women,” Chief Scout Executive Michael Surbaugh said. “We strive to bring what our organization does best — developing character and leadership for young people — to as many families and youth as possible as we help shape the next generation of leaders.”
Local scout leaders embraced the idea of girls joining Boy Scouts. “I think it’s phenomenal,” said leader of Ville Platte Troop 322 Christie Enicke. “There is a big uproar right now about it for the fact that people are not educating themselves and not realizing that the girls are allowed but they’re still going to be separated. These girls will now have the chance to do everything that the boys get to do. A lot of people say girls should be allowed to do everything, and why not?”
“We do every other job that a man does for the most part,” added Enicke. “I personally have three boys, and I advocate this because if I were there age I would be jumping for joy to be doing everything that my boys are doing. It’s not just about knives and boys camping, it’s so much more that these girls will get to experience like engineering, science, life saving, and water safety. The possibilities are endless, and they’ll never get to experience this otherwise in my opinion.”
Mamou Pack 322 leader Tamara Bellard also agreed with the decision. “Why would you not want you daughter to learn life long ‘manly’ skills that could benefit her in the future,” she said. “A lot of women now are raising sons alone. If we let our daughters participate in Cub Scouts today and they pick up the skill of how to use a jigsaw and a hammer to build something, how to check oil and water in a vehicle, how to cook meals, and how to be thrifty, then how is this a bad thing for the future of tomorrow?”
“Change is hard, but the world is changing everyday whether we like it or not. The only way we can thrive and grow as people is to grow and thrive with the time. I look forward to welcoming my first girl next fall.”