Center deemed safe for pyjama parties

By Meg Olson

Point Roberts girl scouts got to wear their pyjamas for movie night last month at the community center, but not without some wrangling.
A dozen parents and girls scouts came to the October 8 meeting of the Point Roberts parks board to ask for clarification of the rules for using the building after a telephone conversation with parks board member Irene Waters during which scout leader Heather Good said she was told pyjamas would not be allowed for movie night the following day.

“To these young girls the pyjama prohibition seems arbitrary and punitive,” Good told the parks board, especially when the library holds pyjama reading events in the same building.“The reason I said no was because it’s a public building, the building will be open and it’s a Friday night,” Waters said. “The library rents that space, has its own insurance policy and each child comes with a parent.”

Anne Watson, program specialist with the Totem Girl Scout Council, joined Good in addressing the board. “Pyjama parties have been a part of girl scouts forever,” she said. “This is a bunch of little kids and their parents. It’s not Fredericks of Hollywood, it’s little girls.”

Watson added the ratio of adults to children was high, the leaders carefully selected and trained and the event and its participants covered by Girl Scouts of America insurance policies.

Several board members worried about liability issues regarding the children’s safety. “Our concern is if you have little girls in the building there is an element of society you may have hanging out there,’ said Shelley Damewood. “We’re very conscious of the safety of these kids so we’re very strict.”

“We have a 100 year old reputation here and safety is paramount,” Watson said, outlining the program’s safety rules, such as a girl is not allowed to leave the room without a parent or adult leader.

Lyn Vaughn Jones, a girl scout parent, felt board members were being overbearing regarding how community groups use the center. “Is there a problem with pyjamas or with girl scouts being in the building?” she asked. “As a parent and a taxpayer I have a problem with the pyjama problem. You can send them to school in pyjamas, to the library in pyjamas. Is there a rule book I’ve not been made aware of? Is there a dress code? Am I missing something?”

“The use of the building is at the discretion of the parks board,” Waters said. Insurance and safety aside, she expressed a concern about propriety. “I feel pyjama parties should be in houses but maybe I’m old fashioned,” she said.

Board member Linda Hughes said she didn’t see why a supervised event should be prohibited because of dress. “I let my kids attend events on the Point in pyjamas. I’m for it,” she said. She also agreed to be the liaison with the girl scouts to help quickly resolve any other questions regarding limitations on how they could use the community center.
The board agreed to allow the pyjamas, as long as adults supervising the event locked the door to the room and girls were with an adult if they needed to go out. “Go ahead with your event and we’ll monitor it,” Waters said. “We’re not being paranoid. We’re doing it because of safety and we want to protect ourselves,” she said.

Board member Fred Dehaan suggested the board needed to think about being less domineering when it comes to how the community uses the community center. “We’re always battling with the seniors, now we’re battling with the girl scouts,” he said. “These groups use the buildings. They know the rules.”