LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Sydney Basler loves to put on her uniform, from her badges to her neckerchief to her custom belt buckle.
“It makes me feel good and a little sweaty,” she said. Fair enough. There are a lot of layers.
Sydney wanted to join what was then the Boy Scouts of America since she was two years old. “My brother was in it,” she recalled, “and I saw the fun things they were doing.”
Her dad, Peter Basler, was in it, too, and just got his 30-year pin. Like Basler, the assistant scoutmaster wears his affiliation with pride.
“It’s been a huge impact on my personal life and my family,” Peter Basler said. “My wife is a leader as well. My son is one rank away from Eagle. I think it should be spread to everybody.”
When the organization went co-ed five years ago, he says, a wave of girls joined, including Basler, the first girl to sign up in her pack.
Over 6,000 young women across the country have already earned the rank of Eagle Scout. Inside the organization, it was clear that it was now open to all, but the public was still a bit confused.
“When people see Sidney, like, selling popcorn,” he explained, “they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, the Girl Scouts! When are you going to sell cookies?’”
Now, for the first time in its 114 year history, Boy Scouts of America announced they are rebranding, changing their name to Scouting America.
President and CEO Roger A. Krone said, “This will be a simple but very important evolution as we seek to ensure that everyone feels welcome in Scouting."
Like 13-year-old Emily Marie McCulloch, who wears a BSA-embroidered shirt rather than one with the word “boy” on it, she admits that it felt weird.
She applauds the organization’s leadership for the new name.
“They made that effort to change it and make us feel included,” she said. “I can see that honestly being a really big step forward, for such a really small action.”
Of course, not everyone agrees.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz tweeted that the rebrand will only “make clear that ‘boys’ are no longer welcome.” An online petition looks to restore the original name, which it says “carries with it a rich history and tradition that should not be erased.”
The organization, though, has struggled in recent years. They sought bankruptcy protection in 2020 after being named in hundreds of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse.
After the pandemic hit, membership dropped by nearly half.
Involved in recruitment, Peter Basler feels the rebranding and campaign around it will help.
“It’s going to be easier for us to go out and say, ‘Well, we’re the scouts and we’re co-ed,’” he explained. “I think it’s going to do wonders for getting girls to be in scouting.”
He says his daughter and her cohorts made it clear to their leaders that they expect all of the same opportunities boys have, even if they don’t play out exactly the same.
For instance, Peter Basler said the difference was noticeable at a recent girls' empowerment weekend.
“Instead of camp songs, it became a Taylor Swift song-a-thon,” he laughed. “I’d never seen in a Scout camp in my life.”
Question the name change or place of girls in Scouting America, and Basler just shakes it off. She’s got big goals to focus on, like becoming an Eagle Scout.
“I want to do it as soon as possible,” she insists. “I can be the first girl in our troop to make it from Lion all the way to Eagle Scout.”
A milestone her dad expects she’ll soar to in no time.