[15303] in APO-L
Scouts, etc.
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Elliot Echlov)
Wed Nov 6 23:39:50 1996
Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 23:38:12 -0500
Reply-To: Elliot Echlov <cfknights@INFOAVE.NET>
From: Elliot Echlov <cfknights@INFOAVE.NET>
To: Multiple recipients of list APO-L <APO-L@VM.CC.PURDUE.EDU>
I swore I wasn't going to post in this area, but after the virtual flood....
I cannot honestly speak from experience as a Scout. The only time I spent
was as a Cub in the 3rd grade, and this does not qualify me as an expert.
What I can speak on is the experience of my chapter when it became involved
in a project for Scouts.
We decided that we had not done enough for the Boy Scouts, and since we had
our roots in them, as well as a number of Eagle Scouts in the chapter, we
decided to hold a Merit Badge University. It went well, so we decided to do
another one.
We had not given any thought to the fact that one of our brothers, who was
scheduled to conduct one of the classes in MBU #2 for a badge, was (and as
far as I know is still today) homosexual. When the local Scout Council
found out, trouble began.
Word got back to the chapter that the brother in question could not
participate in MBU in any way. Needless to say, this put us in a difficult
situation. Some of the brothers felt the project was "ours", and the Scout
Council had no right to tell us who could or could not participate. Others
felt that in the interests of service, we should adhere to the wishes of the
Council. Some of the brothers who were Eagle Scouts met with the Council to
get a clarification, and were told that the brother could participate in the
planning, but was asked not to be present when MBU was held.
The chapter held a long debate, one that I must admit was one of the finest
I have ever seen. The argument that finally won out was when we were asked
to put ourselves in this brother's shoes and see how it felt. Though nobody
was happy with the outcome, the chapter decided to back out of the project.
Sadly, the chapter has not done any projects with the Boy Scouts since then.
The Eagle Scouts in the chapter chose to go ahead with MBU, and did an
excellent job. As far as I know, they are still doing at least one a year
through the Explorer Post they started after this situation was "resolved".
Unfortunately, and somewhat indirectly as a result of this, none of the
Eagle Scouts returned in future semesters to active status.
All this took place prior to the 1994 Convention. Since that time, there
has been a definite wedge between Alpha Phi Omega and the Boy Scouts. Like
many of you, I am not happy to see this. But no matter what we have on
paper, the fact is that similar troubles will continue to occur so long as
the two organizations continue on their respective paths. "Right" or
"Wrong" is not the issue. What _is_ the issue is whether or not Alpha Phi
Omega and the Boy Scouts of America can face a situation like the one I
detailed above and find a better solution than the one we came up with. I
said in that debate that it didn't matter which way we voted, we were going
to lose. It was a choice between losing honor and respect, or losing sight
of our principles. Other chapters may have gone through similar situations.
None should ever have to.
YiLF&S
Elliot Echlov
