College set to fire prof who forced students to sign pledge to vote for Obama

The president of Brevard Community College (BCC) has called for the firing of a professor who required students to sign a pledge to vote for President Obama in the run-up to the 2012 election.

An investigation conducted by Brevard Community College confirms Professor Sharon Sweet forced her students to sign this pledge.

BCC President’s Dr. Jim Richley’s recommendation to the school’s Board of Trustees, follows an internal investigation released by the school, which confirmed a Campus Reform report that Professor Sharon Sweet had required her students to sign a pledge to support both President Obama and Democrats.

“The investigation found that Professor Sweet strongly encouraged or mandated that students from several classes sign a pledge card that stated, ‘I pledge to vote for President Obama and Democrats up and down the ticket,’” the report released by BCC stated.

In a statement, Richley said Sweet, who has been on paid suspension since Campus Reform broke the story last September, should be fired for “harassment, incompetence, misconduct and unprofessional behavior.”

The BCC investigation also found that Sweet had employed deceptive practices in order to obtain the pledges.

“She also misrepresented her intentions to multiple students, indicating at various times that she was conducting voter registration for the college, that the pledge cards were non-partisan voter registration forms, and that the pledge was a ‘statistical analysis,’ it added.

BCC was hurled into the national spotlight last year for Sweet’s actions after a Campus Reform exposé highlighted her alleged demand for students to support the Democratic Party in the 2012 elections.

The college has notified professor Sweet on their findings, allotting her with ten working days to respond to the charges. Upon receipt of her response, BCC’s board of trustees will set a meeting date to determine whether any disciplinary action will take place.

University spokesman John Glish declined to further comment to Campus Reform until the board of trustees takes action.

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