Long Island Girl Crusades for Right to Join Boy Scouts

Sydney Ireland, 15, of Bridgehampton, has a dream: She'd like to be able to join the Boy Scouts of America and strive toward earning her Eagle Scout badge, scouting's highest rank.

Sydney says at a time when a woman is running for the nation's highest office as president of the United States, shattering the boundaries and allowing girls into Boy Scouts just shouldn't be such a big deal.

To that end, she's created a petition on change.org, "Tell the Boy Scouts to End Discrimination Against Young Women." She needs 173 more individuals to sign before reaching 5,000, at which point she and her father, attorney Gary Ireland, plan to reach out to Boy Scouts of America.

"I cannot change my gender to fit the Boy Scouts’ standards, but the Boy Scouts can change their standards to include me. I am determined to be an Eagle Scout. It isn’t just a hobby, it’s access to some of the best leadership training there is," Sydney wrote on change.org.

According to the BSA, she said, more than half of all astronauts were involved in Scouting and 16.3 percent of West Point cadets are Eagle Scouts. In addition, she said, of the current Congress, 191 members were involved in Scouting, 18 current United States governors participated in Scouting, and many of them are Eagle Scouts.

"The facts say it all — high-level Scouting creates opportunity, and with opportunity comes a chance at success in the global community," the petition says. "Unfortunately, for me and half the country’s population, we are excluded from most of these amazing opportunities for no reason other than that we are female. That’s why I’m calling on the BSA to end the discriminatory ban against young women and girls, and allow all children to participate in the Boy Scouts and earn the Eagle Rank."

Boy Scouts of America responded Wednesday.

“We understand that the values and the lessons of Scouting are attractive to the entire family," said Effie Delimarkos, director of communications for the Boy Scouts of America. "However, the Boy Scouts of America was chartered by Congress in 1916 to serve boys and young men across the nation through the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts programs, which are year-round programs for boys in the first grade through age 18. We have since developed alternative programs that are co-ed, such as Venturing, but to change the Cub or Boy Scouting programs would go outside the bounds of our charter.”

Speaking to Patch on Wednesday, Sydney said she has been involved with Boy Scout activities since she was 4 years old and her brother Bryan was 6, when he was a Cub Scout.

"I was an unofficial member," she said, even earning her "unofficial Arrow of Light" at the age of 11. "I did all the work, but they didn't recognize me because I'm a girl. I wanted to join Boy Scouts but I was shut out."

Sydney is a member of a Canadian troop in Ontario, where the Scouts Canada program is co-ed.

"I've been going every summer for the past three years. It's very similar to Boy Scouts here except it's co-ed. Almost every country in the world is co-ed," she said.

Her father Ireland added, "All we're really asking is for Boy Scouts to join the world and allow in girls. That's not that big of a stretch."

Women are world leaders, Sydney pointed out. "So why should they be so behind in this issue?"

Some, however, do not agree, taking to social media to ask Sydney why she can't just be happy with Girl Scouts and maintain the status quo.

As for those who counter by asking why Sydney can't just join the Girl Scouts, she responded, "I'm not too familiar with Girl Scouts, but Boy Scouts also has the Eagle Rank. I know there's an equivalent in Girl Scouts, as well, but I want girls to have to have the choice to join whatever program they want."

Her dad added, "We draw the analogy to Ivy League schools. Many were single-gender until recently." Once single-gender institutions of higher learning such as Barnard and Columbia have thrived with a co-ed student populations, he said.

Sydney, a student at the Nightingale-Bamford School on New York City's Upper West Side, attends Boy Scout events with her brother and father at Troop 414 in Manhattan, participating as a member of the World Fellowship of Scouting.

Both Sydney and her father believe that with women on the national political canvas, BSA needs to catch up with the times.

The fact is, Ireland said, with BSA's charter first created in 1916, the world has changed. Since then, women have been granted the right to vote. "That's how far behind the policies are," Ireland says.

Back in 1916, Boy Scouts didn't embrace the LBGTQ community; those bans have now been lifted for Scouts, in 2014, and volunteer leaders, in 2015.

"Within the last few years, we've evolved so much," Ireland said.

Both Ireland and Sydney say much of the support they've received, including heartfelt notes from those signing the petition, have come from Eagle Scouts. One Eagle Scout even sent Sydney his badge, she said.

"If it's such a great program, and we believe it is, everyone should get this benefit. Why wouldn't you want women to get this excellent training?" Ireland said.

Ireland said he'd love if BSA brass could make a decision involving allowing girls into the organization by fall.

Sydney is not the first girl to try to shatter boundaries; girls across the country have reportedly fought for their rights to join Boy Scouts, as well.

"All we want is the same consideration," Ireland said. "All we want is the best of this program to be available to young women, who shouldn't have to travel abroad."

Allowing young women into Boy Scouts would bolster flagging membership, both agreed.

Sydney said one of her most memorable experiences with the New York City troop was when the group went ice climbing in the Adirondacks a few years ago. She's also enjoyed service projects, both at home and in Canada.

Including young women will allow whole families to participate together, the Irelands say. In addition, they point out that as it stands, female leaders are allowed in Boy Scouts, and women, as well as men, all bring their proverbial talents to the table.

"The more young women are included in the Scout program, the more barriers break down. When they go camping in Canada, no one notices if they are a girl, or a boy. They are just considered Scouts," Ireland said. "Scouts transcend gender."

Ireland, himself a former Scout leader, said, "One of the things I really don't understand is that, as Scouts, we wrap ourselves in flags and are real patriots. I can't understand excluding young women if you've got a great program to share," Ireland said. "Scouting offers such great training and leadership skills, and our nation needs principle-based leaders to be competitive in the global marketplace."