The US Military Academy in West Point has ordered 12 officially licensed clubs for women and ethnic or racial groups with a willingness to comply with the Trump administration's direction on diversity, equity and inclusion. , ordered it to close immediately, the academy said Wednesday.
In a memo on Tuesday, academy deputy commander, Chad R. Foster, said the club is disbanding “according to recent presidential official orders, the Department of Defense and the Army Leadership Office.”
Dozens of clubs that are quickly disbanding include the Corbin Forum, a group that promotes women leaders, founded in 1976, when women were first admitted to West Point. Latin Culture Club. National Black Engineers Association Club. Vietnamese American Officers Association. The spectrum of LGBTQ cadets. Society of Women Engineers Club. The academy is also reviewing other groups on campus, the memo said. All clubs named in the memo have been ordered to “delete public, deactivate, archived, or other public content.”
On Wednesday, the National Society of Black Engineers Club homepage received an error message saying, “Oops!” In large letters.
Drew Fitzsimmons, a West Point alumnus who founded the organisational spectrum on campus in 2012, said he was “displeased and disappointed with the decision.”
Fitzsimmons said the group had formed friendships among the cadets and held weekly meetings prepared for leadership.
“Affinity groups like this provide a safe space for people with similar backgrounds,” says Fitzsimmons, executive director of a nonprofit organization called Knights Out, which currently supports LGBTQ service members and their families. He said.
According to the memo, the directive will notify any travel, meetings, events and other activities related to clubs that are no longer permitted to use government time, resources or facilities to carry out informal activities. He said he had cancelled it.
Academy spokesman Colonel Terrence Kelly confirmed the closure of a statement released Wednesday. “Recent guidance shows that the US military academy is reviewing its programs and activities affiliated with the Department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusive,” the statement said. “The club that broke up yesterday sponsored by the office.”
On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order to end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within the federal government, pledged to “build a color blind, merit-based society.” I received support from. Since then, federal agencies have placed dozens of officials associated with the DEI program during their holidays, including some who appear to be far-reaching with diversity initiatives.
The order also called on the U.S. Attorney General and the Education Division to issue institutional guidance to end competition-based admissions to end the Supreme Court's 2023 decision at universities. That decision did not apply to West Point or any other military academies. This is currently the focus of separate lawsuits that challenge the use of positive behavior.
Stephanie Saul Reports of contributions.
