While I was in the middle of a chemistry lesson on Feb. 18, I received a news notification on my phone. Opening it, I couldn’t believe what the headline read: “Boy Scouts of America Files for Bankruptcy Over Sex Abuse Claims.”

Having been an active Boy Scout for six years, this definitely caught me off guard. I had grown up and made lifelong friends through this program and to hear that it was filing for bankruptcy was something I could not accept.

The statistics were quite telling. Membership was slowly declining compared o a decade ago, according to the Boy Scouts of America’s 2016 annual report. Forbes.com released an article on Feb. 18 stating that the Boy Scouts of America was facing hundreds of lawsuits with most cases “surrounding alleged child abuse” that took place between the 1960s and 1980s. These accusations shocked me because I always felt as if I was looked after by my troop members and leaders rather than abused. In Fullerton-based Troop 1747, I was raised feeling loved and protected because of brothers whom I could call my family. In our monthly Boy Scouts meetings, we were taught to keep ourselves physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight. Since I joined the troop, I have been living my life by those morals alongside my Christian values.

Boy Scouts was more than just an extracurricular activity to me from the start- it was a way to becoming the best person I could be. In all my years in this program, I experienced only good memories. Going camping every month with my friends and having to cook for the younger members was not only a learning experience, but it was a memorable one as well.

Not once in my six years have I felt threatened or uncomfortable by anyone of the Boy Scouts staff or adult troop leaders. At least in my troop, many of my peers take ownership of our own group, and the adult leaders are there only to advise us when we face a conflict we can’t solve on our own.

For example, when we leave cooking utensils and other supplies back at the campsite, the adult leaders communicate with the parents to resolve the issue. With the Boy Scouts organization being sued for several billions of dollars, I’m still not completely sure what to expect within the next couple of months, but I think that my troop will be fine for the time being. I was most comforted upon reading a Feb. 28 Orange County Register online article about how several Los Angeles and Orange County Boy Scouts chapters “are not bankrupt.” In the most recent Boy Scouts meeting I went to on Feb. 22, I was expecting my Scoutmaster to bring up the sensitive topic, but to my surprise, he didn’t.I then looked around and saw about 50 loud, pesky boys talking, realizing that our troop was made mostly of middle schoolers who weren’t ready for the abhorrent reason as to why the national organization had opted to file for bankruptcy protection.

When I personally brought up this issue to my Scoutmaster, he informed me that it wouldn’t directly affect our troop because we are part of the Orange County Council, one of the local districts which has not been affected by the actions of the national organization. I was quite relieved to have been informed about this situation. In fact, I am more determined than ever to remain with my troop and finish up my eligibility with my peers.

That would be the morally straight thing to do.

<Daniel Kong / Sunny Hills HS 10th Grade>