Author: Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig

  • I was angry when someone who reported to me in the provost’s office wanted nix our funding commitment to the Native American community on campus. His justification stopped me in my tracks. He said, “There are only four or five Indians on our campus.” I was incensed. The comment was not only inaccurate, it was…

    Why Universities Keep Failing Native Students—and What We Tried to Do About It
  • Donald Trump wants to rewrite history by silencing museums that teach the truth about slavery. That is not leadership, it is dictatorship. When Trump rails against the Smithsonian and other museums as “woke” for teaching how brutal slavery was, he is not just throwing around a campaign insult. He is signaling that he wants to…

    Donald Trump Wants to Rewrite History by Silencing Smithsonian
  • Recently, billionaire investor Charlie Munger died at the age of 99. Known for his decades-long partnership with Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway, Munger built a legacy not only through financial acumen but also through a set of principles he insisted were deceptively simple: live below your means, keep learning, act with integrity, and avoid toxic…

    Integrity and the Urgency of Choosing People Wisely
  • By now, most people have heard the news. U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, herself a Trump appointee, ruled that the Department of Education acted unlawfully when it issued two guidance documents directing colleges to dismantle their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs or risk losing federal funding. “The government cannot proclaim that it ‘will no…

    Trump’s Anti-DEI Guidance Crusade Just Got Struck Down
  • It is not often that Gavin Newsom and Liz Cheney end up in the same sentence as symbols of hope. Yet in 2025, these two figures from opposite ends of the political spectrum are embodying a new reality. The fight against authoritarianism is no longer a battle between left and right, but between those who…

    Gavin and Liz: Strange Bedfellows in the Fight for Democracy

Cloaking Inequity is an online platform for justice and liberty-minded readers. I publish reflections, analysis, and commentary on education, democracy, culture, and politics.

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