Top military schools have faced a swift backlash after using underground means to discuss books and topics banned by the Trump administration.
Cadets and staff at the US Naval Academy have been creating non-governmental emails to chat about the banned ideas, including the likes of critical race theory.
The president has cracked down on what made up the curriculum at the school, with faculty saying they run their research through an AI tool screen their findings.
Words that are flagged include ‘barrier’, ‘Black’, ‘allyship’, ‘cultural differences’ and ‘The Gulf of Mexico‘.
Professors have been told to teach that ‘America and its founding documents remains the most powerful force for good in human history’ after a memo Pete Hegseth.
One unnamed professor told the Washington Post: ‘We at the Naval Academy are here to prepare young officers to command.
‘They need to know what we have learned from our study of politics and history and literature and languages.
‘We are failing them and we are failing in our jobs if we suppress some things we know are true and we parrot other things we know are false.’
They also said that students are feeling conflicted about the possibility of being deployed under the current White House.
One professor said they had advised cadets to serve until they receive an order that they feel might be illegal.
He told them if that point comes to ‘reject it rather than compromise yourself’.
Graham Parsons, a former professor of philosophy at West Point Military Academy, left his position earlier this month in protest over the changes to the curriculum.
He said that the entire US armed forces have been left up in arms over Trump’s reversal of DEI initiatives and social justice programs.
Parsons told the outlet: ‘It’s a feeling of real whiplash. We used to raise the possibility in the military and beyond, there are still real structural problems with racism and sexism. That would not fly now.’
He stood down from his post after writing a scathing opinion piece for The New York Times.
In it, he said: ‘I cannot tolerate these changes, which prevent me from doing my job responsibly. I am ashamed to be associated with the academy in its current form.’
Hellbound and Down 