What to expect from ArrowPride at NOAC 2024

ArrowPride will be returning for the second time at this summer's National Order of the Arrow Conference.

• Why it matters: This is the third consecutive national Scouting event, including NOAC 2022 and the 2023 Jamboree, with a dedicated inclusion space for LGBTQ+ Scouts and allies.
• It's happening at a delicate moment: While Scouting continues to invest in this type of programming (even renaming the organization in that image), Republican politicians are demonizing (and sometimes trying to outlaw) diversity, equity and inclusion work.

To learn more about what's in store for this year's ArrowPride, I spoke to Corey Channell, who's leading the space for NOAC 2024.

“When you come into our space, people will feel like they belong there, regardless of how they identify," Channell told me.

The daily schedule will include a mix of familiar events:

• Discussion hours for different identity groups, including one session for parents and adults interested in supporting LGBTQ+ youth
• Panel discussions, including one with current and former LGBTQ+ national officers, and one about being out as LGBTQ+ on a high school or college campus
• Open hours where anyone can interact with the space and meet fellow Scouts

Channell doesn't see much of a risk that any of this will be received poorly, despite the current political moment.

“Scouts are really good at leaving politics outside of the conversation. And regardless of the legislation that is being passed beyond the walls of NOAC, the work that we’re doing is so important that it really doesn’t matter," he said.

If anything, the wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation we've seen recently is more of a reason to double down on these types of spaces in Scouting, Channell said. “If Scouting is the only place where [LGBTQ+ youth] find their community, I think it's a win for Scouting.”