Scout earns Star without fulfilling POR req.

[aquilae_exploratorem2014]

Here's the situation--

A boy in my troop (or better said, patrol) is moving out of the area next week. He is currently our ASPL, having started his term in March. And up until yesterday, he was First Class. He reached First Class in January, but at the time, he did not have a POR, because he was the APL. Now, he had been a patrol leader for a year, but his term ended well before he got First Class. A week ago, he told me that he would be going for a Star BOR at the next meeting (which was yesterday). Hearing this, I reminded him that he needed two more months of ASPL to fulfill the requirement. He heard me and kind of shrugged it off.

 

​Yesterday, he begged out of our PLC (which really irked me) to meet with a merit badge counselor so that he could finish up Family Life in time for a BOR that night. After the PLC, I asked the Scoutmaster if I could speak to him privately for a moment. I voiced my concerns to him, and after discussing it with me and the other Eagle Scout in the troop, he agreed with me, saying, "We want to do it by the book". A while later, as I was running my patrol meeting outside, he came up behind me and whispered that our Advancement Chair, who was the SM up until September of last year, had gone ahead and signed it off. This Scout passed his BOR later that night.

 

Now, here is my question-- what should I do in this situation? This boy was not serving in a POR when he earned First Class, and only got one two months ago. He clearly has not fulfilled the requirement, and as the 2013 Guide to Advancement states, "No council, committee, district, unit, or individual has the authority to add to, or subtract from, advancement requirements". But yet, he was passed on it. It just does not make sense around the board. Should I speak with the Scoutmaster? The Advancement Chair? It just does not seem fair that he only completed 50% of the requirement and still gets credit for it. I'm afraid that once the younger Scouts hear of this, they will want to have the same treatment. I know that I cannot appeal a BOR, but should I go to the Scout and remind him that "A Scout is Trustworthy" (He also was elected to the OA, which as you might know emphasizes the Scouting virtues) and ask him to appeal it, for the integrity of Scouting? He went into the BOR fully knowing that he had not completed the requirement...I told him of it twice, once last week, and in October, when POR became available, that APL does not count for rank advancement. This is really tearing me up, as I know how much work it took me to get Star, and my brother as well. Any feedback is quite appreciated.

[qwazse]

Hey a_e, welcome to the forums!

 

My guess is someone felt sorry for the other youth having to move, didn't trust that a unit where he was going would help with continuity, and figured they should cut him a break. Unfortunately, anytime adults cut corners like this, they usually do not consider how it makes their other youth feel. So, yes, you should ask the SM for a conference and let him know how you feel about this situation. Depending on how much adult hemming and hawing you can stomach, you can ask the advancement chair to be in on the conference. If there was nothing else that the boy did before becoming ASPL (e.g. an SM-assigned service project), then you can explain how demoralized you feel.

 

I'd skip the drama about asking to repeal the rank.. We're talking about 2 months on the clock, and maybe the committee didn't think they'd be able to arrange a BOR in July. Lame, I know, but again from an Old Fart's perspective, sometimes 8 weeks in the summer doesn't mean as much.

 

I mentioned to a parent in another thread that in high school, my best friends were the ones who called me on the carpet for getting away with something. It's time for you to be a "best friend" and tell him that you think what he did was wrong, and even if adults were letting it slide, you think he should have stood up for playing by the rules..

 

Again, that might not result in a rank being repealed, but a boy might know he's got a friend out there that he can count on for "straight talk" when he needs it.

[Scouter99]

Give your scumbag friend a chance to do the right thing, and if he refuses, he'd ought to have a lonely Eagle ceremony.

[Stosh]

It's too bad you have an adult-led troop. Any time one lets adults have a say so, they have a tendency to pull stunts like this. Sad part of it all, when the boys learn of the injustice, the lesson will be, this is how one is supposed to act once they get to be adults.

 

You learned a good lesson on good-old-boys politics. Remember it, you will someday be asked to participate. I'd recommend sticking to your honor and your oath as a scout.

 

Stosh