[17584] in APO-L
Re: Addition to Alcohol Discussion
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Benjamin A. Kuperman)
Mon Nov 17 12:12:53 1997
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 1997 10:24:57 -0500
Reply-To: "Benjamin A. Kuperman" <kuperman@CS.PURDUE.EDU>
From: "Benjamin A. Kuperman" <kuperman@CS.PURDUE.EDU>
To: Multiple recipients of list APO-L <APO-L@VM.CC.PURDUE.EDU>
In-Reply-To: <199711170827.DAA22979@arthur.cs.purdue.edu>; from Bryan Royer-
Alpha Gamma Xi on Mon, Nov 17, 1997 at 03:26:00AM -0500
Subject: Addition to Alcohol Discussion
Date: Mon, Nov 17, 1997 at 03:26:00AM -0500
It was rumored that Bryan Royer- Alpha Gamma Xi (Sleepy477@AOL.COM) said:
> I was talking to some a couple of people in APO here at UDayton who
> happen to be heavily involved in Scouting. One talked about the fact that
> alcohol is not allowed at ANY Boy Scout function. He did not like the idea
> that we occasionally do drink at our functions (usually just semiformal) when
> APO is supposed to based off of the Scouts.
This is an issue I would like to contribute to. In my 4 years with APO
I've run across many people who blindly assume that APO follows
Scouting policy. This is most certainly not the case, and I'm very
glad that it isn't. APO does not discriminate on the basis of gender,
sexual orientation, or religion (all of which the BSA does). Having
been on the Scouting Relations committee at Nationals in 1994, I am
very aware that BSA doesn't want to be like APO and APO doesn't want
to be like BSA. We share a common heritage and set of ideals, the
Scout(tm) Oat and Law. What we choose to do with these ideals is up to
our own organization, not the interpretation of an "outside" entity.
Additionally, APO is an organization for adults and not youth. Based
on this, we should not be concerned that legally drinking with our
letters on will be influencing youth (the basis behind the BSA policy
of not drinking in uniform). When we as individual chapters, or a
national organization, develop policy, we MUST be sure to consider our
own needs and responsibilities, and not be dependent on another's
definition or belief. Yes, it is very useful to see what other
organizations have decided when formulating policy, but we need to
examine these things closely.
> [snip]
> One of the things that appears to be difficult to nail down into words
> is "how many brothers does it take to make an non-APO event 'official' in the
> eyes of _____." Some of us want to include drinking with letters on as being
> a bad thing even if the consumer is over 21. I know that some have answered
> [more snip]
This idea of "official" and "unofficial" scares me. It seems to
indicate that people feel that somehow a five minute "official"
meeting followed by a 4 hour long "unofficial" party is acceptable.
Usually, the chapters I have talked to that do this are concerned with
under-age drinking. There are better ways from a risk-management
perspective to handle this as a chapter/organization. (The above
example is what I believe most people are considering when they talk
about "unofficial" APO events. Please correct me if this is a mistaken
belief.)
I have a few ideas how such issues can be address in a risk management
policy, but I believe that these topics are better address by the
individuals in a chapter.
Yours in Leadership, Friendship, and Service,
-Benjamin Kuperman.
--
Alumnus/Life Member - Zeta Lambda
Eagle Scout/Vigil/Woodbadge - BSA
