During a week of canoeing in an area between Minnesota and Canada known as the Northern Tier High Adventure location, a senior in the School of Public Affairs Ryan Korn barely slept. He woke in the middle of the night to the sound of howling wolves; he only had purified lake water to drink and ate moldy spaghetti accidentally dowsed in a stream. He was eaten through his multiple sweaters by mosquitoes in 80 degree weather, came down with a fever on the third day and “definitely almost got struck by lightning. Twice.”
“I wanted to die afterwards,” Korn said. “Now I can do anything because I went through two weeks of hell,” Korn said. “It’s made me a lot stronger in so many ways.”
While every High Adventure Trek may not be as difficult, boys from across America have taken part in similar experiences for the past century as members of the Boy Scouts of America, according to Korn.
The Boy Scouts of America celebrated its 100th anniversary Monday, Feb. 8 this year, marking a century of service during which 112 million boys have become Eagle Scouts, according to the organization.
Among those 112 million are several AU students who took part in scouting as they grew up. At least 14 current AU students earned Eagle Scout status in high school after lifelong participation in the Scouts.
Alpha Phi Omega, the co-ed community service fraternity with a chapter at AU, was founded by a Boy Scout named Frank Reed Horton, who instilled the principles of the Scout Oath and Law into APO upon its founding in December 1925, according to the national APO Web site.
Junior in the College of Arts and Sciences Andy Sides is APO’s current membership vice president and is an Eagle Scout who continues to enjoy volunteering, as he did in the Scouts, he said.
“I loved the community service aspect of Scouting ... and so I thought that [APO] would be a really good continuation of that,” Sides said.
However, AU’s chapter of APO has not worked directly with the Scouts for some time because it does not agree with some policies of the Scouts, according to Sides.
Boy Scouts troops across the country do not allow open homosexuality in troops, Sides said. This policy includes gay parents who participate in troops in which their son may be a member, according to Sides.
“If there’s a gay couple, and they want their son to partake, they won’t allow their dads or moms to go out on camping trips or be active in the troop,” Sides said. “I personally do disagree with their policy on homosexuality.”
APO chapters usually work with local Scout troops, but AU’s chapter does not work with the closest troop to AU, Troop 666 at the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church across the street, because of that decision, according to Sides.
“We really don’t affiliate with any local troop because of their stance on homosexuality,” Sides said.
Korn disagrees with the Boy Scouts’ policy concerning homosexuality, he said.
He joined East Brunswick, N. J., Scout Troop 252 in the sixth grade and went on to become an Eagle Scout in high school, he said.
While he dislikes the Boy Scouts’ controversial policy, Korn simultaneously believes the Boy Scouts is one of the best programs for boys to grow up with, he said.
“I know several gay scouts,” Korn said. “I don’t personally agree with the decision ... [but] it’s a mixed bag, really. I also support the program, so it’s hard to negotiate the two.”
Participating in the Boy Scouts influenced Korn’s decisions in college concerning his major and career path, he said. He wants to go to law school and is majoring in Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics and Government and political science because he is “very interested in public service” because of the Scouts, Korn said.
But the Scouts also taught him to branch out in other activities. Korn is now a member of the “AU Rude Mechanicals,” which puts on Shakespearean plays for the AU community.
“I didn’t even earn the theatre merit badge,” Korn said.
Scouting has lasted for a century now because of the direct involvement of families and parents in continuing the tradition and because of the positive impact it has on many boys’ lives, according to Korn.
“I really believe this deeply: it’s one of the best programs for boys to grow up in ... [Even though] it hasn’t always had a golden, shining reputation,” Korn said.
Nevertheless, Korn and Sides said the Boy Scouts made them realize the value of service.
On his way to talk to The Eagle after last week’s blizzard, Korn texted to say he would be late for the interview.
“I’m ... helping a guy dig out his stuck car [in the snow],” Korn wrote.
You can reach this staff writer at mfowler@theeagleonline.com.
