Mayor becomes a Goode scout

After Wilson Goode leaves his post as mayor next year, he may still be seen him meandering through the corridors of City Hall -- hawking Girl Scout cookies. Mayor Goode was named an honorary Girl Scout last week at a Girl Scouts leadership conference held at the University, and was given his official pin for dedication to the service organization. "Men can be Girl Scouts," Girl Scout spokesperson Pat Dier said Wednesday. "He was given the pin at our banquet." Sporting t-shirts pronouncing themselves "Tomorrow's Women Leaders," 638 high school Girl Scouts from across the country descended upon the University's campus last Wednesday. But some Girl Scouts said that the t-shirt slogan was misleading and the conference did not center on women issues -- rather it focussed on self-improvement. "[The conference is] not about women's lib," North Carolina Girl Scout Kellie Floyd said. "It's to become better people ourselves." The four-day international conference entitled "Together We Stand" was hosted by the Girl Scouts of Greater Philadelphia and included members from all fifty states, Puerto Rico and Germany. The Girl Scouts barely had time to relax as their busy schedule included four workshops, a personal assets clinic, a game simulating international relations and a bus trip to Penn's Landing to watch the Fourth of July fireworks. As a special perk for the visitors, the shopping mall at Liberty Place arranged to close their doors to the public and allow the scouts to have an exclusive three-hour shopping spree. Many of the seminars focused on choosing a college and a future career. [The conference] helped me get a feel for what college life could be like," Girl Scout Erin McGowan said. "I'd even consider going here." Many of the conference members said they were uncertain why, in a recently publicized case, a girl applied to join the Boy Scouts. "She's missing out," Floyd said. "Regardless of title, it's what you learn and do. There are so many things that Girl Scouts do that Boy Scouts will never have a chance to do." The Girl Scouts, who were housed in High Rise North, hosted a dorm party last Thursday night and participated in the Girl Scout tradition of "swaps," an exchange of momentos representing the girls' hometowns and backgrounds.

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