The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) have decided to allow girl members to join previously all boy troops on Wednesday, October 8. This shocking decision will take effect in 2019, though the exact date is unspecified. This is a continued step up after their recent decisions in 2013 and 2015 on allowing homosexuals, as well as transgenders who identify as males, to join Boy Scout troops and even apply for leadership positions, according to The Atlantic.

Girls all over the country have been ecstatic after hearing the news of the big decision. Many of them have always wanted the chance to participate in Boy Scout activities, which have been out of their reach previously. “I just want to do what the Boy Scouts do — earn the merit badges and earn the Eagle Award,” stated Sydney Ireland in the NBC News. She is a young girl in New York who aspires to obtain the rank of an Eagle Scout, just as her brother had.

While many people across the country are shocked at the Boy Scouts’ decision, Chief Scout Executive, Michael Surbaugh, explains that “the values of Scouting—trustworthy, loyal, helpful,  kind, brave and reverent, for example—are important for both young men and women.” He believes that it is of the utmost importance that the young boys and girls of America receive a good education in developing their character and the leadership skills that they will need in the real world (The Atlantic).

Though the news of this new decision is very uplifting to many girls, people all over the nation cannot help but to be upset, even raged, about it. This hold especially true with the Boy Scouts’ counterparts, the Girl Scouts. According to CNN, their main concern is that the Boy Scouts will take away both current and future members of Girl Scouts. The BSA has been around much longer and is more well-known to the general public. The Girl Scouts are firm in their beliefs that only they have what is needed to train girls properly in leadership and world skills rather than a male-lead organization.

Once girls are officially joined in Boy Scout troops, there will no doubt be a great strive and vigorous race to see who will be the first girl to earn and Eagle Scout Award. This award is one of the most prestigious and well-known accomplishments in the country, according to the National Eagle Scout Association. It is extremely difficult to earn and the Boy Scouts who succeed in receiving it look back at what they did with pride for the rest of their lives. The fact that girls will soon be allowed to join Boy Scouts is already remarkable enough, but the first girl to earn the Eagle Scout Award will no doubt go down in history. There will be girls practically scrambling over each other in the race for fame.

The BSA is hopeful for their future with girl members and look forward to the new journey in uncharted territory.