BRIDGEHAMPTON, NY — One day before the Boy Scouts of America changes its name and launches a program for girls, allowing them to participate for the first time in the organization’s history, a “fearless” teen who has fought for 13 years for change in the Scouting program continued her quest to earn her Eagle Scout rank — the highest honor in the Boy Scouts of America organization.
On Thursday, despite the bitter cold, elected officials gathered around the “Fearless Girl” statue in New York City to support Sydney Ireland, who, despite only being 17, has worked tirelessly to help break down barriers.
For years, Ireland’s dedicated crusade to join Boy Scouts has been documented on the East End, where her family lives in Bridgehampton, and in New York, where her family also has a home.
Friday, Feb. 1, marks the day when the BSA will launch a new program, Scouts BSA — the name change reflects the change in longtime Scouting policy.
Ireland, said the elected officials present at the press event, has long been the catalyst for the organization’s historic change. She has spoken at countless Scout meetings, and sent scores of emails and letters lobbying Boy Scout leaders to let her and other girls have the same opportunities boys have had for more than 100 years — the right to Boy Scout training and access to the prestigious Eagle Scout rank.
Those who gathered Thursday urged BSA leadership to recognize Sydney’s work and that of many other young women, awarding them the merit badges and ranks they say she has rightly earned.
“I feel that it’s unjust to not take into consideration Sydney’s Eagle Scout project owing solely to the fact that she is not a boy,” said New York State Assembly member Harvey Epstein. “I ask that you immediately welcome Sydney as a full member, count the valuable work she, and others like her, have done towards earning the Eagle Scout rank.”
Ireland said, after years of calling upon BSA to “end discrimination,” she’s thrilled and excited that the “ban on young women” will be lifted on Friday.
“We call on the BSA to count all of rank and merit badges I, and many other girls, already completed before Feb. 1. The BSA was the last western country to end the discriminatory ban against girls and they should now welcome young women,” Ireland said. “I look forward to the Boy Scouts immediately granting me and other qualified girls the official Eagle Scout recognition. As I said when I first began this journey: ‘I can’t change my gender to fit the Boy Scout standard, but the Boy Scouts can change their policies to let me in.'”
New York State Senator Brad Holyman said his Eagle Scout award was one of the greatest honors of his youth — and that Ireland’s persistence and courage in fighting for the rights of girls have earned her the right to be named an Eagle Scout. “I urge the BSA to recognize her work as soon as possible and will be proud to have Sydney join the ranks as an Eagle Scout,” he said.
Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer agreed: “In the work she’s put in since joining the Scouts at age four, Sydney Ireland has epitomized the Scout Oath and Law by being a responsible, committed citizen and leader. The BSA should demonstrate its new commitments to inclusiveness and bestow upon Sydney and all young women like her the ranks and merit badges they’ve earned.”
Ireland, said Sonia Ossorio, president of the National Organization for Women, has been a Scout in New York City’s Troop 414 since she was four, doing everything alongside her brother and the other boys, including serving as senior patrol leader.
“Her advocacy has been the catalyst to BSA embracing girls and officially accepting them as members. Yet the top brass won’t officially accept the documented and Scout leader reviewed skill mastery, rank advancement and merit badges, including her Eagle Project, Sydney has achieved. It’s a slap in the face to her as an exemplary Scout, who overcame all odds, and a sad beginning to what should be a positive new chapter in Scouting history. Unfortunately, this treatment is all too familiar to women the world over,” she said.
Before the press event, Ireland said the day was critically important, an effort to urge the BSA to accept all of the ranks that she and others have completed.
“As of now, on Feb. 1st, I, along with other young women in my same position, will have to start over from the beginning of Scouting. I have completed every requirement to achieve Eagle Scout, but I did everything before they changed their policies. By getting the word out through this event, the BSA will be forced to question the validity and logic of their decision to have qualified Scouts repeat their ranks. Opening up their organization to young women is probably the biggest change that the BSA has ever made, and we want to make sure that they completely end all forms of discrimination that they had,” Sydney Ireland said.
When asked if she was about to “age out” of the chance to earn the Eagle Rank, Ireland said that while, under standard BSA procedure, a Scout has until their 18th birthday to achieve Eagle; BSA is granting an extension to all girls under 18 to achieve their Eagle under a certain time frame.
“I, and other girls in my position, will eventually be able to become recognized Eagle Scouts, but the question is if they are going to count all of the many years of work we did prior to Feb. 1,” she said.
In a statement to Patch, a spokesperson for the BSA said, on Thursday: “Thanks to Sydney, as well as countless girls and their families who came to Scouting activities together for years and wanted to be able to do the same things, achieve the same advancements and earn the same awards as boys in the program, the BSA decided to welcome girls into its iconic programs in October, 2017. We are proud that Sydney Ireland will be one of the first girls to join Scouts BSA tomorrow, and we will be proud to see her grow in Scouting, attend the World Scout Jamboree and be one of the proud first female Eagle Scouts in the inaugural class that will be celebrated in 2020.”
In addition, the BSA spokesperson said: “We have shared these sentiments with Sydney and her family because we feel this is an important moment for her, for girls and for our Scouting movement. We have also been clear with Sydney about the path that is available to her to earn the Eagle Scout rank, as well as the efforts we are taking to make a path to Eagle available for all youth that join Scouts BSA.”
She may be young but Ireland has fought hard for more than a decade, and the experience, she said, has been meaningful. “I always do my best to live by the Scout Oath and Law and this journey has allowed me to embody what a true Scout should be. I advocated on behalf of future girls and young women that want to have the same opportunities that their male counterparts have had since 1910.”
A spokesperson for the BSA responded: “Given her unique circumstances and experiences, we have communicated directly with Sydney and her family about her specific path to Eagle, recognizing her accomplishments to date. For more than 100 years, the pinnacle of the Scouting experience for some has been achieving the highest rank of Eagle Scout. To honor the rigor of the path and dedication required to become an Eagle Scout, it’s imperative that they follow the same steps as Eagle Scouts before them, and future Eagle Scouts who will come after them.
“Our goal is to create a level playing field and ensure that all youth just joining Scouting will have the opportunity to achieve their dream and earn the rank of Eagle Scout. In keeping with this philosophy, all requirements must be completed while the individual is a registered member of Scouts BSA, or after achieving the first class rank in Scouts BSA,” the BSA spokesperson said.
The BSA gave an analogy: “If you regularly sit in on classes at Columbia University, but aren’t matriculated in the school, after auditing a full course load and after the traditional four year college experience, you unfortunately still are not eligible for a Columbia diploma if you were not officially enrolled. Traditionally, BSA rules say a young person can no longer earn Eagle once they turn 18. Because many new Scouts BSA members are only able to join for the first time on Feb. 1, 2019, that rule would have unfairly excluded those members who were beyond a certain age threshold from having the opportunity to earn Eagle. By offering this one-time extension, everyone who is willing to work for it will have a fair opportunity to earn Eagle.”
Gary Ireland, Sydney’s dad, said she, along with her brother, Eagle Scout Bryan Ireland, has written and passed resolutions with the National Organization for Women and NYC Presbytery, spoken at meetings and sent an endless stream of emails and letters, all to convince the Boy Scouts to let her and other girls have the same opportunities boys have had for more than 100 years.
“On Feb. 1 the Boy Scouts will officially allow girls to join Boy Scout troops and are even changing the name of its historic program to the more gender neutral, Scouts BSA. No doubt, this is the most exciting time in Scouting,” he said.
A long, painful battle
Along with asking to be recognized as an Eagle Scout, Ireland said his daughter is asking BSA to “stop the harassment.”
Sydney, her father said, “has been the target of cyber harassment by an adult Boy Scout leader and member of the honor society called the Order of the Arrow, who displayed a photo of Sydney in a Scout uniform and claimed she became pregnant while on a camping trip,” Ireland said.
The meme also said the Order of the Arrow had become “full co-ed,” allowing “homosexual boys, transgendered girls, homosexual men,” with “free condoms at Jamboree.”
The meme was alarming, Sydney Ireland said. “I am concerned for the physical safety of the group that he targeted, including LGBTQ+ youth and young women. I am disappointed that the national leadership of the BSA has not discussed this issue of safety with me.”
Her father, attorney Gary Ireland, added: “Sexual harassment and retaliation is never acceptable, particularly by an honor society adult leader and the national leaders. I have worked in the field of employment law for over 20 years and offer to help improve their policies and practices.”
He added that when he and his family received news that his daughter “Sydney was targeted for cyber-harassment, we were first concerned for Sydney’s safety and the safety of everyone else the adult leader targeted. We were also disappointed that an honor society adult Boy Scout leader would post such an attack on the LGBTQ community and young women. We are understandably disappointed by the refusal of the BSA national leadership to speak to us or provide us any information. It seems, rather than helping to support Sydney during a stressful time, because of her advocacy for young women, the national leadership has not responded, sometimes even retaliated against her. We still cannot get an answer from the BSA national leadership about what is going on to make sure everyone is safe.”
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Hoylman wrote a letter to Michael Surbaugh, Chief Scout Executive, Boy Scouts of America, and James Turley, National Chair, Boy Scouts of America, regarding the alleged meme incident. “The leader allegedly posted a meme on Facebook implying Ms. Ireland would become pregnant on a Boy Scout outing. He reportedly shared this image in a broader context of disparaging remarks against, as he put it, ‘#1. Homosexual Boys, #2. Transgendered [sic] Girls [and] #3. Homosexual Men. As you should know, Ms. Ireland has been subject to multiple threats, including physical and sexual assault. I urge you to undertake the appropriate investigation of the leader and if these allegations prove truthful, remove him as an adult leader with the Boy Scouts of America. The BSA should not allow someone who has harassed, intimidated and humiliated a minor to continue in a leadership position.”
Ireland concluded: “The behavior by the BSA national leaders in failing to address the sexual cyberbullying of my daughter is particularly disappointing, given the ongoing allegations of sexual misconduct against Scout leaders, the related law suits and potential bankruptcy.”
Surbaugh issued a statement in Dec. after a Wall Street Journal article stating that the BSA may consider bankruptcy due to sex abuse lawsuits: “We have an important duty, and an incredible opportunity, to focus as an organization on keeping children safe, supported and protected, and preparing youth for their futures through our nation’s foremost program of character development and values-based leadership training,” Surbaugh wrote.
The BSA responded to Patch via a spokesperson Thursday, confirming that the male leader had been removed from his position: “We are grateful for State Senator Hoylman’s outreach regarding this incident, which prompted us to reopen the investigation. Initially, the volunteer member removed the post, apologized and was removed from a position of leadership locally. Since then, based on the appeal, it was determined that the volunteer leader was in violation of our policy so we took action to expire his membership. We shared this with the Ireland family, and reiterated to them that we consider this leader’s actions egregious.”
The response from BSA added: “We expect all leaders in the Scouts BSA program — youth and adults — to abide by the Scout Law at all times — to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. Harassment of any kind has no place in the BSA.”
After the event Thursday, Gary Ireland said the welcoming of girls into Boy Scouts is the most significant and positive change in the organization’s history of the Boy Scouts.
“The Boy Scouts should be celebrated for welcoming young women into the organization,” he said. “Of course, we need to also make sure these girls and young women are fully welcomed. All young women who have already completed rank advancement and merit badges deserve their work to be recognized. At the urging and with the support of Chief Scout Executive Michael Surbaugh, Sydney completed all the requirements for Eagle Scout. Sydney views Chief Scout Surbaugh as a mentor. Sydney was elected to lead her troop as the Senior Patrol Leader, a troop she cannot even join. She deserves the award of Eagle rank, just like any other Boy Scout.”
Sydney and his family met with Surbaugh for a second time on Oct. 3, 2018 at the National Organization for Women New York City headquarters, Ireland said.
“In our prior meeting, in June, 2017, Surbaugh had encouraged Sydney to continue with merit badges and rank advancement, and she could be the first female Eagle Scout,” he said.
On Oct. 3, they met in the same venue, with Surbaugh, Turley, and National Commissioner Ellie Morrison, Ireland sad.
“Sydney displayed and went through all her work from Scouts South Africa, where she is an honorary member; Scouts Canada, where she is about to earn the highest award, the Queens Venturer Award; Cub Scouts, included her Arrow of Light; and her notebook filled with Boy Scout accomplishments, including National Youth Leadership Training, three mile swims, ice climbing, scuba diving, as well as her two proclamations from the New York City Council. They . . . told her she would have to start over Feb. 1, 2019 and none of her prior work would count. Their behavior was punitive, retaliatory,” Ireland said.
In addition, Ireland added, leadership knew her Eagle Scout project had been scheduled for Veterans Day “and could have mentioned it. She went forward with ‘Connect a Vet with a Pet,” her project to find adoptive for pets in homes with veterans and to provide service and therapy dog training,” even receiving a proclamation from Hoylman declaring Nov. 11, 2018 as “Sydney Ireland Day” for her work with veterans and adoptive pets.
“The Boy Scouts have produced some of our most respected male leaders, from Michael Bloomberg, to Steven Spielberg to Robert Gates,” Ireland said. “The organization prides itself on being a meritocracy. Sydney and the other young women who have done the work should receive everything they have earned.”
Photos of Sydney Ireland, and of Sydney and Gary Ireland, courtesy of Ireland family.