In the wake of being established as one of the most prominent youth groups in the country for over a century, The Boy Scouts of America rescinded their policy of only accepting young males and is now broadening their inclusiveness by officially allowing girls to become members through a decision reached on Wednesday Oct. 11.

This is not the first time that the organization has dealt with controversy. In the past they have experienced backlash from people for not admitting gay scouts and have even dealt with cases of excluding members who practiced different beliefs.

English teacher Mrs. Ordway, who once considered letting her daughter join the Girl Scouts, shares her opinion on how the new change can redeem mistakes the group has made in the past and improve their purpose.

“Considering the past controversies that the Boy Scouts have been involved with shows that perhaps the program is evolving if they’re willing to let girls come in,” Ordway said. “I truly believe that they will continue to seek how to evolve to better meet the needs of kids today.”

Since finalizing their decision, numerous people, including the Girl Scouts of America, have opposed it saying that it will do more harm than good by posing a threat to traditional values.

“Girl Scouts is the best girl leadership organization in the world, created with and for girls,” the organization wrote in a post from their blog on girlscouts.org. “We believe strongly in the importance of the all-girl, girl-led, and girl-friendly environment that Girl Scouts provides, which creates a free space for girls to learn and thrive.”

Yet, a handful of students and teachers of Downey High instead believe that the decision will help to ensure that all girls are treated equally and have the same opportunities as their male counterparts.

“I think their decision is a step in the right direction towards promoting equality and acceptance,” Angelene Arias, 12, who is a proud supporter of gender equality, said. “No one should be excluded from joining a club just because they’re different.”

Mrs. Ramirez, another English teacher who is also involved with the Girl Scouts, highlights the potential effectiveness of this new policy.

“I think it’s a great idea. I like that it’s becoming more inclusive and that they’re allowing girls to participate,” Ramirez said, “especially because being an Eagle Scout is such a high honor and I don’t really know if there is a prestigious award like that for the girls.”

Beginning in 2018, young girls will be able to gain membership into Cub Scout units of The Boy Scouts of America.  The new decision has been made following the requests from families that have allegedly been pushing for a change in policy for years.