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San Diego State University history Professor Pablo Ben told a room full of students recently that President Donald Trump is a “racist.”

He made the comments earlier this month after the group of students had viewed a “disturbing” series of “sensory experiences” consisting of theatrical skits designed to help students combat their prejudice.

The comments were couched in a larger session led by the history professor as a way to give students a chance to talk about what they observed.

“Sometimes we also assume that because someone voted for Trump, some people voted for Trump despite the fact that Trump is a racist, not because he is a racist,” Ben said.

“Certainly there’s a lot of people who voted for [Trump] because they’re, there’s certainly a phenomenon there that points towards racism,” he said, according to a College Fix reporter in the room at the time.

Ben did not respond to requests from The College Fix seeking comment and clarification.

Ben made the comments as part of an event called Journey to a Shared Humanity, during which students were taken through a dark room and watched various skits to be educated about — and experience — different types of oppression.

Students were asked to watch “actors” perform mock situations of oppression “still happening today” having to do with racism, sexuality, and disorders.

After watching the somewhat disturbing skits, students were brought to a separate room to sit and talk with the professor about what they had seen.

The specific comment calling Trump a racist was the scholar’s follow up to another student talking about the journey. She discussed how Trump supporters are uneducated, but made no comments having to do with racism and the president.

The student had said: “Well, I think growing up in California we’re very blessed to be in a society that’s very diverse and accepting, but sometimes it’s easy to forget that in the middle of America there’s complete different mindsets … like Trump supporters. I think it’s very easy for us to be so open minded, but we often forget that some people just don’t grow up like that.”

Some students were required to attend Journey to a Shared Humanity as part of their classes.

Ben, in leading the student discussion after the journey, also told students that they should not wait until the “oppression” begins to affect them to start taking action. He said that even if something does not directly affect them at the moment, it can end up affecting them at some point.

He also asked students to look into their own daily lives, and notice if they are being judgmental toward other types of people. Most of the students in the room verbally agreed that they had come to the realization that they had been judgmental toward others.

Once his discussion was over, he told students to broaden their horizons toward oppression happening to people around them.

MORE — SHOCK VIDEO: Students undergo ‘disturbing sensory experiences’ to drive out prejudice

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