The College Fix

Scholar said ‘whiteness’ is synonymous with evil 

A San Diego State professor who has led an effort over the last few years to get the school’s Aztec mascot abolished, calling it racist, has been found guilty of discrimination against a white student by the California Department of Justice, the Daily Aztec reports.

“The results of the investigation, included in a confidential 51-page report on Dec. 20 and obtained by The Daily Aztec, details a series of conversations and meetings between American Indian Studies Lecturer Oscar ‘Ozzie’ Monge and one of his students, recent graduate Crystal Sudano,” the Aztec reports, adding the department found Monge guilty of discrimination based on race, racial harassment and retaliation.

The Aztec quotes a series of electronic messages between the scholar and the student in which he repeatedly voiced animosity for white people, bemoaned white students who would not support his effort to derail the Aztec mascot, and even alluded to a black student government member as an “Uncle Tom” for not supporting his “Fail Montezuma” effort.

Monge also accused Sudano of cultural appropriation when she wore her hair in braids to a Native American Student Alliance presentation against the mascot, calling them “rez tails,” according to the Daily Aztec.

The professor also reportedly told her he didn’t need her “white savior” attitude in attempting to help them fight the mascot, this despite the fact that the student was a former “Occupy” organizer.

Sudano was enrolled in Monge’s course during the spring 2017 semester but dropped the class after tensions escalated between the two after she began to investigate the claims he made in his heralded “Fail Montezuma” thesis.

That thesis, presented in 2015, earned him a master’s degree and has since been used to work to get the mascot changed. Last November, San Diego State’s academic senate, made up mostly of professors, passed a resolution calling on administration to abolish the Aztec mascot.

As for Monge, he threatened Sudano’s grade over her research into his thesis, the report found.

The Aztec adds:

The investigation found Monge at fault for Sudano’s decision to withdraw.

“The messages Monge sent to Sudano demonstrate that Monge has an animus against white people,” the report said. “The situation was further exacerbated by Monge’s position of authority over Sudano as her professor. Monge’s inappropriate treatment of Sudano culminated in adverse action. Sudano’s ability to participate in AMIND 435 was substantially impacted because of her relationship with Monge.”

“All in all,” the report said, “Monge uses ‘white’ whenever he wishes to explain someone who has done something wrong, or bad.”

In an essay to the investigator, Monge wrote: “It is quite easy to argue that ‘whiteness’ is synonymous with evil.”

Read the Aztec’s full article here. It includes a quote from the SDSU spokeswoman saying the school does not tolerate discriminatory behavior and harassment of any kind. Monge declined to comment to the student newspaper. He is expected to appeal.

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