• The United States Military Academy at West Point banned at least a dozen groups promoting protected classes of people from operating. It comes as part of their response to President Donald Trump’s order restricting diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, in government.
• Banned clubs include groups promoting women and Black people in engineering and groups promoting Asian languages and cultures. However, all cadets, regardless of their background, can join any group.
• Similar, affinity-like groups operating as academic clubs, including the West Point Polish Club, have not been banned.

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In response to President Donald Trump’s order restricting diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, the United States Military Academy at West Point is disbanding at least a dozen student clubs. All of the clubs are affinity groups meant to allow cadets from particular gender, racial or ethnic groups or people who support them to gather together.

The page of West Point’s website listing affinity groups now returns an error, even though digital archives show a full list was available as recently as last week.

The groups were open to all cadets, regardless of their identity.

Banned clubs include societies for Black, Hispanic and female cadets interested in engineering. Other eliminated clubs include those promoting women in leadership, LGBTQ+ cadets, and Japanese language and culture.

Newly Banned Student Groups

• Asian-Pacific Forum Club
• Contemporary Cultural Affairs Seminar Club
• Corbin Forum
• Japanese Forum Club
• Korean American Relations Seminar
• Latin Cultural Club
• Native American Heritage Forum
• Spectrum
• Vietnamese-American Cadet Association
• National Society of Black Engineers
• Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers
• Society of Women Engineers

Military.com reported that it had seen the memo issued Tuesday. West Point’s deputy commandant, Col. Chad Foster, wrote, “These clubs are not authorized to continue informal activities using government time, resources or facilities.”

Military.com also received a statement from West Point. “In accordance with recent guidance, the U.S. Military Academy is reviewing programs and activities affiliated with our former office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” Col. Terence Kelley, a spokesperson for the school, said. “The clubs disbanded yesterday were sponsored by that office.”

Last summer, West Point disbanded the school’s DEI office.

The order bans groups from congregating on campus in addition to eliminating them.

However, the memo did not target some similar clubs. The memo also did not list one affinity group, the West Point Humanist Society.

A similar group that operates as an academic club and not an affinity group also did not face a ban.

The West Point Polish Club, which promotes Polish culture, history and language, can still operate.