Boy Scouts Gets New Name to Include Girls

 

This is What’s Trending Today…

For more than 100 years, the Boy Scouts² of America’s main program has simply been known as the Boy Scouts.

But with more and more girls hoping to join, that will soon change. The organization has announced a new name for the program: Scouts BSA.

The change will take effect in February of next year.

The Boy Scouts’ chief, Mike Surbaugh, said the organization considered many name possibilities. He said the group wanted a name that held on to its past but also carried, in his words, the “inclusive nature of the program going forward.”

The parent organization will remain Boy Scouts of America. And the Cub³ Scouts, its program serving younger children, will keep its name, as well.

But the Boy Scouts, the program for 11- to 17-year-olds, will now be Scouts BSA.

Surbaugh said he believes that boys and girls in Scouts BSA will call themselves scouts, rather than adding “boy” or “girl.”

Scouts BSA will be divided by gender⁴ for the most part. Single-sex groups will do the same kinds of activities and earn the same badges.

Surbaugh said that having separate groups for boys and girls should reduce concerns that girls new to BSA might be less likely to get leadership positions.

So far, more than 3,000 girls have joined an estimated 170 Cub Scout¹ groups that are taking part in the first step of the new policy.

The name change comes during worsening relations between the Girl Scouts of America and Boy Scouts of America.

Girl Scouts leaders said they were surprised by the move. They said they are preparing an aggressive campaign to get and keep girls as members.

Among the Girl Scouts’ efforts is creation of many new badges that girls can earn. The new badges center on outdoor activities and on science, engineering, technology and math. The organization is also expanding corporate⁵ partnerships⁶ in those areas, and it is developing a Girl Scout Network Page on LinkedIn to support career help for former Girl Scouts.

Sylvia Acevedo is G.S.A. chief. She said, “We are, and will remain, the first choice for girls and parents who want to provide their girls opportunities to build new skills.”

Surbaugh said B.S.A.’s national leadership respects the Girl Scouts of America and hoped both organizations could gain strength.

“If the best fit for your girl is the Girl Scouts, that’s fantastic,” he said. “If it’s not them, it might be us.”

And that’s What’s Trending Today…

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

gender - n. the state of being male or female

badge - n. a cloth patch that can be sewn onto clothing and that is awarded to a person (such as a Boy Scout or Girl Scout) for doing something

opportunity - n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done

fantastic - adj. extremely good

1 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

2 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

3 cub   

n.幼兽，年轻无经验的人

参考例句：

• The lion cub's mother was hunting for what she needs. 这只幼师的母亲正在捕猎。
• The cub licked the milk from its mother's breast. 这头幼兽吸吮着它妈妈的奶水。

4 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

5 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

6 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句