[15201] in APO-L
Merit Badge University and Scout Oath and Law
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Stephen A. Curry)
Fri Nov 1 11:58:36 1996
Date: Fri, 1 Nov 1996 10:52:46 -0500
Reply-To: SCurry@Trinity.Edu
From: "Stephen A. Curry" <scurry@Trinity.Edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list APO-L <APO-L@VM.CC.PURDUE.EDU>
First Delta Pi chapter at Trinity University in San Antonio has held
Merit Badge University for six years. It has been a tremendous
success with about 300 scouts from the Alamo Area Council
participating each year. Some practical advice:
- Have the scouts pre-register at least a week in advance
- However you decide to handle partial completions, make sure it is
clear and consistant for all badges.
- Have plenty of APO members to keep an eye on things like fire
extinguishers between sessions.
Now regarding the Scout Oath and Law:
I believe this is why Horton founded Alpha Phi Omega in the first
place. If I remember correctly, his experience with unprincipled
young men in the navy were his motivation for finding an
organization which instilled the values which he later found in the
Scout Law. I have attempted (though not always successfully) to make
the Scout Law my personal code of conduct. I firmly believe that it
is my duty not only to educate but to assist young people in defining
a set of values which will enable them to live happy and productive
lives. The values of the Scout Law, which cross racial, national,
gender, and religious barriers, do just that.
Removing these values from Alpha Phi Omega is a step in the wrong
direction. We need more people who are trustworthy, loyal, helpful,
friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, brave, clean, and
reverent. You, the college students of today, will be the movers and
shakers of the next century. What kind of world do you want to live
in? Do you want a society of principled, decent people or one devoid
of values and responsibility? The steps you take today will determine
where you end up tomorrow.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Stephen Curry, Advisor
Delta Pi chapter, Trinity University
