r/BSA • u/AromaticCap4 • 10d ago
Scouting America Advice wanted
My son is part of the Jamboree contingent for our area. They had a Campout at the beginning of May with the new Jamboree troop. The kids were told there would be comfort stations available for them to utilize. Unbeknownst to them, the volunteer leadership decided against having the comfort stations because the troop would be responsible to clean them. The leaders did not update the boys about this change (it was decided at check in at the Scout reservation - not ahead of time). Several boys in my son's patrol went to the comfort station, found them locked and did the inappropriate thing and unlocked several with a flint and steel or rocks. My son was present and says he didn't participate but didn't stop the others either. The volunteer leader showed up, told the boys they should not have done that and the weekend progressed. On Sunday night we received a message in the Discord channel about the damage to the comfort station locks and there would be further discussion.
A week later, I received an email saying my son and a parent needed to attend a mandatory meeting to talk about the damage and reparations needed to be paid. I emailed back and said I needed pictures, needed to understand what was happening to the leadership (who weren't leading), and I wanted to understand the insurance. I was told this would all happen at the mandatory meeting.
The meeting was last night. Come to find out the Area Council leadership called most of the other parents in the Jamboree troop EXCEPT the accused kids' parents. Seriously. My son and the others was tried and convicted without being able to address his accuser(s) and discuss the situation. Is this normally how things are resolved in the Scouts? I get the boys violated the Oath and the Law and didn't act appropriately but I can imagine how this was all decided without talking to the accused. And leadership was exonerated from responsibility.
2
u/kobalt_60 Den Leader 9d ago
This whole story smacks of entitlement and privilege. The scouts came upon a locked door and knowing no real consequences would befall them…
There were no “exigent circumstances,” that’s ridiculous. No one was trapped inside that needed rescuing. The leaders opted out of using these facilities because either they didn’t trust the scouts to clean them or didn’t want to take the time before departing camp. If the “need” for these latrines was legitimate, contacting the camp master and having that discussion would be the obvious, scout-like approach.
The fact that this is a Jambo troop, so they’re all older scouts, makes me even more disappointed. The passivity of the adult leadership is also a problem here. A warning and “on your way” is the completely wrong response and sets the expectation that they’ll get away with a lot more before there is any real consequence.
FWIW, my response would likely have been to call all their parents to pick them up ASAP. The warning would come later and be directed at scouts and their parents that further poor decisions would bar them from Jambo participation and likely forfeit their deposits. We would likely return to camp for a conservation service project and in person apology to the ranger. The situation I would want to avoid at all costs would be to be responsible for scouts who think this is acceptable for 10 days at Jambo.