Order of the Arrow invites best of the Boy Scouts

There have been more Boy Scouts than students at IU this week.

Since Saturday, hoards of 7,200 beige and green uniforms have crisscrossed campus.
The Indiana Memorial Union is the event headquarters, complete with management and communications suites. A separate busing system operates alongside IU
Campus Bus. Organizers even print an on-site newspaper, Cornerstone, and air all-day radio coverage on 101.1 FM.

Bloomington is officially Scoutsville.

But after five days of reading “NOAC Power of One” signs and giving directions to wandering Scouts, many IU students said they are still confused about whom these guests are, where they’re coming from, and why they all look the same.

The Order of the Arrow is the national honor society for the Boy Scouts of America. The order was founded in 1915 to bring together the best of the Boy Scouts – those who “exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives,” according the society’s Web site, www.oa-bsa.org.

NOAC 2009 is the 30th convention of the order, which takes place every two to three years. IU was the host of the first NOAC in 1948, and this year’s conference is the 10th staged on the Bloomington campus. The most recent NOAC conference at IU was in 2002.

Part service organization and part fraternity, Order of the Arrow is nothing less than an independent society. Order members, called brothers, range in age from 12 to 80 years, and all wear the official white Order of the Arrow sash.

Dan Higham, the national vice chief of Order of the Arrow, is a junior majoring in human resources at State University of New York at Oswego. The national Order of the Arrow headquarters are in Dallas, and national committee members wear yellow shoulder stripes.

Higham spent several hours Wednesday afternoon at the Founders Day fair in the tailgate fields south of Memorial Stadium signing sashes and meeting members from across the country.

He said NOAC participants are elected by their lodges to attend the convention. He also explained the three levels of Order of the Arrow membership. The first is basic membership, which is attained after earning Arrow status in the Cub Scouts. Membership is signified by a white sash with a long, red arrow. After two years, brothers are able to earn two red bars on their sash by performing “cheerful service.”

The third and highest level of Order of the Arrow membership is Vigil Honor and is attained only through approval of the national committee. Vigil is signified by a triangle embroidered on top of the sash’s red arrow.

Higham also said women can be elected to the Order of the Arrow as advisers. Their role during NOAC is to provide guidance at training sessions and registration tents.

As for Order of the Arrow’s religious ties, Higham said all brothers believe in a higher power but do not necessarily practice Christianity.