West Point Academy Suspends Sports, Tours and Denies Visitors During Government Shutdown

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) — The U.S. Military Academy stopped giving tours and furloughed some civilian employees as officials tried to minimize the effect of the government shutdown on cadets.

West Point officials said Tuesday their faculty is 70 percent military personnel not affected by the shutdown. They called the situation "fluid" and could not say what portion of the academy's 3,000 civilian employees, which include professors, would be furloughed.

Officials said they are focused on minimizing the impact on classroom instruction and military training while maintaining safety.

Tours of West Point were suspended and the visitors' center and the commissary were closed.

With the Defense Department temporarily suspending sports competitions at the service academies, the Army sports website said the men's soccer game with LIU Brooklyn on Tuesday was cancelled.