Next February, the Boy Scouts of America will be making a monumental change to their program which has remained almost static for 108 years. Their last notable shift was ending a prohibition on gay scouts in 2013 and then gay leaders in 2015. The organization announced Wednesday morning they will be changing the name of their flagship Boy Scouts of America program to Scouts BSA.
Chief Scout Executive Mike Surbaugh made clear that the deliberations on this were extensive, saying, “We wanted to land on something that evokes the past but also conveys the inclusive nature of the program going forward. We’re trying to find the right way to say we’re here for both young men and young women.” This follows news from fall 2017 that the Boy Scouts planned to recruit girls into their ranks and restructure troops to accommodate their newest members.
