The UUCRT has long supported Knights Out, whose core mission is to advocate for the open and dignified service of LGBTQ+ servicemembers and veterans, through donations
and attendance at its annual West Point dinner.

Knights Out, in turn, worked closely to support West Point’s LGBTQ+ focused affinity group
– Spectrum. a social club at West Point, open to all cadets, that supported LGBTQ cadets
and promoted acceptance in the military. The club was ordered to disband in February 2025, as part of the Trump administration’s effort to wipe out all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs in this country. Below is a statement from Drew Fitzimmons,
executive director of Knights Out.

Knights Out Response to West Point Announcement to Disband Spectrum

Dear Fellow Grads, Cadets, and Friends of Knights Out,

I was angry and disheartened to learn that the West Point Directorate of Cadet Activities issued guidance late yesterday afternoon to disband Spectrum, in addition to several other important affinity groups.

As a founding member of Spectrum and the first Cadet in Charge, I know very well the importance of this club to cadets, grads, and faculty. Knights Out will advocate for Spectrum’s reinstatement – full stop. However, our mission has always been, first and foremost, to support the people behind the club—the cadets, faculty, alumni, and allies who make our community stronger. Before Spectrum’s founding, Knights Out provided safety, community, and help to LGBTQI+ cadets and alumni who had formed informal
“underground” communities under the constraints of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the trans service ban. We will continue to support our people; that will never change.

Knights Out is an independent nonprofit and we will continue to advocate for open and inclusive service regardless of the policies established by the Academy or the Administration.

Please reach out to Director@knightsOut.org if you have questions, suggestions, or resources you’d like to make available to our cadets or active duty colleagues – your support is more important now than ever. This is a painful moment for our community, but I couldn’t ask for a more courageous group of people to fight alongside.

Respectfully,
Drew Fitzsimmons
Executive Director
Knights Out
USMA ‘14

Statement from the board of trustees of the UUCRT and Resident Minister Diane Diachishin:
“The Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Rock Tavern is a Welcoming Congregation, recognized by the Unitarian Universalist Association. This means we affirm and include people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer at every level of congregational life and in other societal spheres—in worship, in program, and in social occasions—welcoming them as whole people.