!['Woke' ideology has infiltrated Merchant Marine Academy, midshipmen warn](https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/woke-ideology-has-infiltrated-merchant-marine-academy-midshipmen-warn.jpg?id=33219843&width=1245&height=700&quality=85&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C108)
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"Woke" ideology has seeped into the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, according to several former and current midshipmen, Fox News Digital reported.
According to one midshipman, who asked that he remain anonymous, the academy has become politicized. He warned that the situation seems to be "getting worse" and stated, "It's almost like we're the last frontier for woke ideology."
The USMMA is a highly selective federal service academy overseen by the Department of Transportation. According to its website, graduates are "committed to serve the national security, marine transportation, and economic needs" of the country as licensed Merchant Marine officers and commissioned officers in the U.S. military.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg came under fire earlier this year after the USMMA covered a painting of Jesus Christ following a written complaint from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.
The academy covered the artwork with a white curtain to promote "a welcoming environment" and protect those who might be offended.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) and Indiana Representative Jim Banks pushed back on the academy's announcement to comply with the complaint. The USMMA stated that the painting would be uncovered and relocated to the school's chapel.
A midshipman who has been at the academy since 2021 told Fox News Digital that the school's primary passageway was decorated with a mural promoting LGBT+ ideology.
"There was a lot less woke stuff around campus, and then it's just slowly crept in," he stated.
A senior midshipman explained, "There are ideological differences between the people in charge here and the people who actually go here, as well as the majority of the professors who are actually conservative themselves."
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts referred to Buttigieg as the "secretary of wokeness" and blamed his "political incompetence" for the recent direction of the academy.
The USMMA defended its recent actions and stated it "takes pride in establishing a campus that reflects our nation's values of excellence, service and honor and that ensure mutual respect for all."
Roberts argued that the USMMA's statement revealed a "gigantic" red flag that "obviously" indicates that the academy is "no longer focused on excellence."
"When you see phrases like 'mutual respect for all' or multiculturalism, those are gigantic red flags into which the secretary of transportation, the superintendent of that particular academy, have inserted the icons of the regime, the rainbow flag and all the LGBTQ nonsense," Roberts said.
"We have put wokeness ahead of excellence, and that's precisely the kind of thing we have to fight," he added.
Roberts called on the American public to "give up on those institutions that have given up on America."
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