The U.S. Military Academy at West Point has ordered the immediate closure of 12 officially recognized clubs dedicated to women and ethnic or racial groups, citing the need to comply with directives from the Trump administration regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion, the academy announced on Wednesday.

West Point Disbands Clubs for Women and Minorities After Trump Orders

In a memo dated Tuesday, Deputy Commandant Chad R. Foster stated that the decision to disband these clubs was made “in accordance with recent presidential executive orders, Department of Defense guidance, and Department of the Army guidance.”

Among the affected organizations are the Corbin Forum, established in 1976 to support female leadership following the admission of women to West Point; the Latin Cultural Club; the National Society of Black Engineers Club; the Vietnamese-American Cadet Association; Spectrum, which serves LGBTQ cadets; and the Society of Women Engineers Club. The memo also indicated that additional campus groups were under review. As part of the directive, all clubs listed were required to “unpublish, deactivate, archive, or otherwise remove all public-facing content.”https://svtoday.org/

By Wednesday, the homepage of the National Society of Black Engineers Club displayed an error message reading “Oops!” in bold letters.

Drew Fitzsimmons, a West Point alumnus who founded Spectrum in 2012, expressed his disappointment with the decision, calling it “frustrating and disheartening.” He emphasized that such groups foster camaraderie and leadership development among cadets.

“Affinity groups like these create a supportive environment for individuals with shared backgrounds,” said Fitzsimmons, who now serves as the executive director of Knights Out, a nonprofit organization that supports LGBTQ service members and their families.

The memo also stated that all trips, meetings, events, and other activities associated with the disbanded clubs were canceled. The clubs were further prohibited from engaging in any informal activities using government time, resources, or facilities.

West Point’s Communications Office confirmed the closures in a statement released Wednesday, explaining that they were part of a broader review of programs previously associated with the academy’s former Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across federal agencies, pledging to create a “colorblind and merit-based” society. Since then, numerous federal officials linked to DEI programs have been placed on leave, including some with only indirect involvement in such initiatives.

Additionally, the order instructed the U.S. attorney general and the Department of Education to provide guidance for compliance with the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that ended race-based college admissions. While that decision did not apply to West Point and other military academies, these institutions are now facing separate lawsuits challenging their affirmative action policies.