Improper use of food

[Renax127]

Ok I have a questions. At the end of the year we have a cake smash event where to boys get to bake a cake and if they choosh can smash it on the den leader or cub master. One of the dne leader claims this goes against stated guidelins from BSA. Now there is some council info (not our council, heck not our region) that says something to that effeft but I can't find any national info that amounts to that.

 

Yes I realize some people have a problem with the wasteing food aspect and I get that but he's not making it a personal qualm but trying to pawn the issue off on the BSA. If he had made it a personal thing I would at least respect that.

 

 

Any idea if it exists?(This message has been edited by renax127)

[Stosh]

I know of no BSA rules about this, but as you say, on a personal level, it's not a lesson I would ever teach anyone as being okay. If the cake is chocolate, then I'm thinking it would slip into the arena of a spiritual/moral issue.

 

Stosh

[Lisabob]

A good refrain to that kind of assertion is "can you show me where that policy is written? I'd like to see it."

 

In this case, I suspect he's making it up. Still, it might be worth having a broader discussion about the event and whether there is still a consensus on whether it is something you as a group want to do. The group's opinions might have shifted over time and maybe more people are uncomfortable with it now, than before.

 

(Maybe a better alternative is the whipped creme pie in the face - cheaper, less wasteful. Just don't use non-dairy whip creme, it smells really bad for the "recipient.")

 

 

 

 

[Basementdweller]

Wow....

 

Respect for you leaders????? Kinda hard to listen to the guy when you just smashed a cake in his face.

 

enough said.

[Basementdweller]

Well I guess we know which side you support in the argument......

 

 

 

Thanks for your thoughtful and considerate reply.

 

 

[Tampa Turtle]

I think this falls into the realm of similar inducements--meet the goal and the SM shaves off his hair, beard, pie in the face, throw water balloons at him for a $1, etc. I think it can be good old fastened fun and if received in good sportsmanship a good "the old man is OK" kind of thing.

 

Younger guys really eat this stuff up.

 

Is it wasteful? I don't know; my wife usually has a few boxes of really old cake mix--I would use those. Maybe get a day-old cake from the bakery--it is for smushing not eating.

[dg98adams]

Well, I did find the following statement in the BSA Cub Scout Guide for Ceremonies, if you have to have something "official". But I'm sure I covered it in a similar fashion during my time as BALOO Chair in Campfire Planing.

 

"No Hazing. All ceremonies should refrain from initiating activities that might be interpreted as hazing. Activities such as branding, tattooing, painting on whiskers, forcing boys to wear ears or tails, or similar, should not be used. Never force a boy to do anything that may cause him discomfort or embarrassment."

 

Course that's directed at youth..... should we not "be" the example?

 

Personally, I don't like the "Pie-in-the-face" or the "Cold & Creamy skit" routine, and would feel the say way if it was Chocolate cake (as it's my favorite).

 

I know some leaders frequently challenge Cub/Troop popcorn sellers to reach a "sell goal" and they will accept a "pie-in-the-face".... but would counter there are other effective incentives with a more positive result that is Scouting-related.

 

 

I did Popcorn Kernel way back, and would practically volunteer for any other job now and do.... and NO way would I take a pie for any youth met goal.

[perdidochas]

Doesn't sound very scoutlike to me. Not going to comment on it in terms of technicalities, it's just not scoutlike, especially if any of the adult participants really don't care to do it.

[Tampa Turtle]

I understand your position but this seems a bit silly. I know Girl Scout leaders will do this--Girl Scouts!

 

We don't mind boys getting all dirty but worry about a little pie?

 

If you don't want to do it, fine, but it seems a real stretch to say it say it is encouraging hazing.

[perdidochas]

The reply to Basement Dweller wasn't particularly scoutlike either. I don't see a good lesson the scouts can get out of this. When my boys were cubs, we used to do a "feller cake bake" in which cubs (with help from only their dad or other male relative (unless circumstances didn't allow, such as single moms without support)) would bake a cake, decorate it, and we would hold an auction to raise money for the pack.

[CCbytrickery]

What if the rules were that the boy had to come up with the idea of his cake and make it with minimal help from the parent? Is that acceptable?

 

What if it is optional--that the boy can choose to not smush the cake, that they can take it home or that they can share it with their fellow cubs? Is that acceptable?

 

What if it raised items for the local food pantry? i.e. if you wanted to throw the cake, you had to bring in a nonperishable food item. Is that acceptable?

 

There is no hazing--no one is doing anything to any cub scout. The den leaders can choose to not participate. No one is required to do anything, and there is nothing permanent (ok, there might be a little food dye stain for a few days, depending on much is used in the frosting).

 

The question that was raised was is there something in the guidelines that prohibits such an event. SO, is there anything in the guidelines that say YOU CANNOT HAVE AN EVENT WHERE CAKES ARE THROWN AT ADULTS THAT VOLUNTEER TO HAVE THE CAKES THROWN AT THEM?

 

 

[Tampa Turtle]

The lesson: That the adult was a good sport. But really no lesson required: sometimes, like dressing up for a silly skit--we do things just for fun.

[perdidochas]

I just think there are a lot of better things for Cubs to do than to ruin perfectly good cake by rudely smushing it into their adult leader's face. I feel the same about brides/grooms smushing cake into their new spouse's face. It's just a destructive act for no good reason besides "fun". Ironically, I'm pro "singing" for your lost items, which to me is humiliation with a purpose.

 

 

[Tampa Turtle]

But what about old stale cake? It is going to be thrown out anyway.

 

What about a Gay Scoutmaster with 10 mentor pins, 4 trailers, and a sheath knife?

[Beavah]

Lighten up Francis!

 

Hazing? Really?

 

We're goin' to call hittin' the den leader with a chocolate cake the same thing as a dozen people beating a fellow student to death at Florida A&M?

 

Have yeh lost your mind?

 

This can be pure, innocent fun, eh? Without even a hint of disrespect. And much as Renax127's use of language was a bit abrupt, there is a point there that's telling. The best adult leaders in scouting, and especially in cub scouting, are the ones who don't take themselves too seriously.

 

If the respect the lads have for you is destroyed by hittin' yeh with a pie in the face, then let me tell yeh yeh never had their respect in the first place. Yeh had their grudging compliance with authority, and that's not at all the same thing.

 

The scouters the boys truly respect are the ones they tell stories about, and do skits about, and play jokes with.

 

Beavah