Don’t Scout Don’t Tell

Despite the lack of media coverage, Philadelphia’s local Boy Scout chapter still faces the same choice which sparked so much controversy this Fall: suffer a $199,000 rent hike or vacate their headquarters. Jeff Jubelirer, spokesman for the chapter, told reporters in 2007 that the new expenses “would have to come from programs. That’s 30 new Cub Scout packs or 800 needy kids going to our summer camps.”

Spokeswoman Kera Walter recently provided an update, saying that the chapter is still trying to work with the city for a compromise. Options on the table include a more acceptable rent amount, or the city could reimburse the chapter for 80 years of renovation expenses. The Boy Scout chapter, known as the Cradle of Liberty Council, remains “hopeful” for such a compromise.

The Cradle of Liberty Council has occupied the historic Beaux Arts building since 1928. It agreed in the 1920’s to pay the city a nominal fee of $1 per year “in perpetuity.” After nearly 80 years at these headquarters, the City Council voted last June to declare the CLC anti-gay policies discriminatory and issued an ultimatum for the Boy Scouts to either end their exclusion of homosexuals, lose their preferential lease, or get out.

Ironically, the Philadelphia chapter may actually adhere to the BSA policy on a “don’t ask, don’t tell” basis. “We know there are gay Scouts…Of course there are. We don’t care. Nobody cares. We tried to change the policy. National wouldn’t allow us. We’re trying to do the right thing as all parties are concerned,” Jubelirer told Fox News.

Fox News reporter Catherine Donaldson-Evans quotes city solicitor Romulo Diaz as saying “You cannot welcome people when you say to them publicly, you’re not welcome if you’re gay, but privately you can come in…It’s like (posting a job and saying), if you’re a homosexual, don’t apply here. That should enrage people.”

The CLC had in fact attempted to appease the city council in 2003 by issuing a non-discrimination statement. “Prejudice, intolerance, and unlawful discrimination in any form are unacceptable within the ranks of Cradle of Liberty Council,” read the statement, attempting to echo a similar New York City policy. But opponents felt the clause was inadequate. Under pressure from national Boy Scouts leadership, the CLC repealed the language within weeks.

Since December, there has been uniform silence on this issue, although the May 31st deadline for eviction in fast approaching. This media silence likely reflects the perspective that the Scouts’ capitulation—or departure—is a foregone conclusion.

·    The New York Times has not covered the Philadelphia controversy since December. “This week the Boy Scouts made their last stand and lost,” wrote NY Times reporter Ian Urbina in the December article.

·    The Washington Post has published no articles on the story for the last 60 days.

·    The most recent Los Angeles Times mention of the Boy Scouts of America is by columnist Jay A. Fernandez, who reflected on the dubious morality of allowing his stepson to join the scouts.

An Eagle Scout himself, Fernandez writes “From that accumulated experience, I can tell you one thing for sure: Homosexuality was the very least of the things a kid needed to watch out for at Camp Thunderdome. The degenerates and bullies I went through Scouting with were generally lunk-headed sadists who smuggled in porn, committed cruel pranks and tried to set each other on fire. Be prepared, indeed.”

Despite the apparent demerits of joining the Boy Scouts, Fernandez decided to allow his son join the local chapter and admits that he is reluctant to give up his Eagle Scout badge because of how hard he worked for it. Fernandez mistakenly disavows the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawsuit against the San Diego Boy Scouts, an error later corrected by the paper.

On a local level, where the Boy Scouts eviction might be more pressing an issue, the Philadelphia Inquirer has been silent—although it still publishes letters from concerned Philadelphia natives. The most recent commentary on the rent hike stretches back to December, when columnist Ronnie Polaneczky excoriated the CLC CEO for his exorbitant salary.

William Dwyer III earned $260, 352 in 2006—an amount higher than his New York counterpart, who earned $210,000. “But it’s hard to take seriously the Cradle’s crying poor when its boss makes $136,242 more than the head of the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Pennsylvania and $119, 922 more than the head of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Pennsylvania,” Polaneczky sarcastically remarks.

The paper’s only recent reference to the rent increase can be found in a January feature on the city’s new mayor, Michael Nutter. The nominal three sentences, placed at the end of the story, refer to picketing by Boy Scouts supporters outside the Academy of Music. But don’t hold your breath for coverage of the protest. A search of the Inquirer’s website reveals no further information.

Spokewoman Walters said that on a local level the issue has “generated a lot of interest.” She believes that the Inquirer has provided news coverage “when warranted” but that there “has not been a lot of recent movement worthy of news coverage.”

While the May 31st deadline may pass without note, the effects of the city council’s decision will remain in perpetuity. The Cradle for Liberty Council serves 69,000 youth in the region, many from the inner city. Its inner city ScoutReach program serves 2,500 youth, supplying them with a three-phase fully funded afterschool program. In three of its four sections (Triune, Frontier, Delaware), the majority of members are from minorities, with 29% to 64% African-American participation. Only one of the sections, Northern, has more than 50% non-minority participation.

In a city with 392 homicides in one year, Boy Scouts values—trustworthiness, loyalty, helpfulness, bravery, etc.—could go a long way.

Bethany Stotts is a Staff Writer at Accuracy in Academia and the proud sister of an Eagle Scout.