[20294] in APO-L
Re: HIV-Positive Scout Files Complaint
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Kat E Zibell)
Sat Mar 13 21:15:37 1999
Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 20:20:24 -0600
Reply-To: Kat E Zibell <kzibell@JUNO.COM>
From: Kat E Zibell <kzibell@JUNO.COM>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
Brothers-
A few thoughts upon this topic from a former Girl Scout troop
leader and a current volunteer....
>The Legal Action Center of New York City filed it Wednesday on behalf
>of Quashawn Donovan with the state Division of Human Rights. Quashawn
>was rejected from seven troops in the Queensbury area last year
>because she has the virus that causes AIDS, according to her mother,
>Dianne Donovan.
No girls are denied membership in GSUSA.... she would be able to
register as a member of the council and participate as an individual
girl, earning the same recognitions as the other girls. It does NOT
guarantee a girl a spot in a troop.
>"We want the human rights division to require the Girl Scouts to
>educate all troop leaders, volunteers and staff that HIV cannot be
>transmitted through casual contact," said Legal Action Center lawyer
>Sally Friedman. "We also want them to order the Girl Scouts to adopt
>stricter anti-discrimination policies that would hold people who
>violate them accountable."
It is one thing to require paid professionals of a volunteer
organization to follow strict guidelines. It is completely another to
require volunteers who are donating their time, energy and money to
follow the same standards.
>The complaint also seeks unspecified damages to compensate Quashawn
>for the emotional distress she suffered when she was rejected by troop
>leaders, Friedman said.
What about all the other girls across the country who are denied
entrance intro a troop??? It happens on a daily basis across the country
on the personal discretion of troop leaders. Typically it is for other
reasons such as the troop has grown too large for the leader to adequate
facilitate the program, moving outside the geographic areas of the school
which the troop is based out of, lack of parental support ( such as
forgetting to pick up the child regularly or the parent repeatedly
swearing at the leader), etc.
>According to the complaint, the local council gave Mrs. Donovan an
>enthusiastic response when she first approached them in October
>looking for a troop for her daughter. But she said she was later
>rebuffed by troop leader after troop leader, who individually hold the
power to decide
>who joins their troops.
Troop leaders are responsible to control and adequitely care for
the children in their care... if one puts the rest of the group at risk,
the one should be removed. For instance, I've had girls in my troop who
would not listen to me and follow my directions, putting the other
members of the troop at risk. They were not welcomed back into the
troop. Income is not a barrier as financial aid is available. HOwever,
poor behavior and high risk behavior is.
As a former troop leader, I would have to agree with the leaders
involved in this suit. It is quite common while working on craft
projects to receive paper cuts or be pricked accidentally by a sewing
needle. With someone in the troop being HIV positive, it creates a huge
burdon of responsiblity for the troop leaders as most kids will not stop
what they are doing the instant blood is drawn to follow proper blood
born pathogen cleanup.
For day camp this summer we are facing similar situations with
risk management. Due to strict GSUSA policies, the girls are techniquely
NOT allowed to carry their own prescription drugs; they are required to
check them in with the camp nurse. One of the girls is severely allergic
to bee stings. With her needing to have her epipen administered within
two minutes of the sting, it is not practical for the drugs to be checked
into the camp nurse who can be more than fifteen minutes away during camp
hikes. Same for the girl who has chronic asthma. Risk management is to
manage risks, but people still need to have the rights to make
responsible decisions for the best possible outcomes.
>Mrs. Donovan said she believes leaders, who are volunteers, were
>afraid parents would pull their children from troops if Quashawn
>joined.
A similar situation occured this fall in the Kansas City area
with a disabled Boy Scout who physically hurt another member of his
troop. He was "allowed to stay" in the troop. However, all of the other
boys in the troop and the parents leading the troop left. What is a
troop with one person and no adult leadership? It isn't.
>The Legal Action Center accused the local council with discrimination,
>and the national organization, Girl Scouts USA, with "aiding and
>abetting" that discrimination.
It happens all of the time. One of the troops I led was made up
of entirely financially disadvantaged girls. You can't tell me that
those girls just happend to end up in my troop. They were all from one
parent low income families... which was NOT the demographic of the area.
They were actively discouraged from joining other troops.... hence the
"unwanted" formed a troop of their own.
>Friedman said troop leaders don't face any consequences if they
>violate the organization's anti-discrimination policy.
The leaders don't face consequences because they can't be fired.
The Girl Scouts are a volunteer organization. Without their millions
of volunteers, they are merely a framework of paid professional program
administrators. Volunteers have to be able to control their situations
and risks involved. They stay or leave because of their own personal
reasons. If the risks or personal costs become too high, they leave.
My questions is this: when do the rights of one overrule the
rights of the existing majority?
kat zibell, whose opinions are her own
