San Diego State lecturer who made disparaging remarks to a white student will not teach next semester

Reporting from San Diego — A San Diego State lecturer who made disparaging remarks about white people won’t be teaching during the spring semester, the university said in a statement to the Union-Tribune.

University officials would not confirm a story in campus newspaper the Daily Aztec that Oscar Monge had been scheduled to teach this semester.

An investigation by the California attorney general’s office concluded that Monge sent at least 15 offensive Facebook messages to Crystal Sudano last year, when she was a student in his Native American studies class, according to the office’s report dated Dec. 20, 2017.

The report states that Monge referred to Sudano as a “white savior,” a term that can be used to refer to a white person who disguises their racism by aiding minorities. Sudano is white. Monge is Native American and Chicano.

“All in all, Monge uses ‘white’ whenever he wishes to explain someone who has done something wrong, or bad,” the report said. “Indeed, in an essay to the investigator, Monge wrote, ‘It is quite easy to argue that “whiteness” is synonymous with evil.’ ”

In recent years, Monge has publicly pressed San Diego State to stop using the Aztec as a mascot, arguing its use is racist and noting that the Aztecs lived in central Mexico, more than 1,000 miles from San Diego.

Monge has not responded to four emails from the Union-Tribune seeking comment.

Sudano said in a message Wednesday night that she is “relieved” that Monge will not be teaching during the spring semester.

Robbins writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

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Twitter: @grobbins