Community Corner

Ryan Andresen on Ellen DeGeneres Show Thursday

National NBC show to air the story of gay, now 18-year-old Boy Scout running afoul of Scout policy as he pursues his dream of being an Eagle Scout.

First: Happy birthday to Ryan Andresen, 18 years old today (Monday).

Now the news: On Thursday, the Ellen DeGeneres Show wraps up Cat Week, actress Octavia Spencer drops by and then Ellen turns her attention to Ryan Andresen of Moraga.

The Ellen listing states: "Ryan Andresen was on his way to receiving the top honors as an Eagle Scout, but when he came out to his friends and family as gay, the Boy Scouts refused to approve his award. Since then, a petition for Ryan to receive his award has amassed over 165,000 signatures. He's here to tell Ellen his story."

The family announced last week that family members would appear on an unspecified national television show. Patch first reported on Oct. 4 about the Andresen family and its petition drawing international attention on Change.org. On Monday morning, the petition was within a few hundred of 350,000.

The petition urges leaders of a Moraga troop
to reject the Boy Scouts of America's "discriminatory anti-gay policy" and give Ryan Andresen the Eagle award. Ryan is a senior at Maybeck High School in Berkeley. Andresen's Eagle Scout project is a 288-tile wall of tolerance now displayed on an outdoor wall at Joaquin Moraga Middle School in Moraga.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show is on from 4 to 5 p.m. weekdays on NBC channels.


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