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‘Rescind the offer:’ Rally against U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson as next YSU president held

By Kelcey Norris Mahoning Matters

Updated November 24, 2023 9:35 AM

Youngstown State University community members met Monday at noon outside Tod Hall at YSU. They’re asking the university’s Board of Trustees to rescind the offer made to Ohio Rep. Bill Johnson to be the next university president. Kelcey Norris Mahoning Matters

Students, staff and community members met Monday at noon to protest the decision made by members of the Board of Trustees at Youngstown State University.

They gathered outside Tod Hall at YSU to protest against the board’s decision to choose Ohio Rep. Bill Johnson as the candidate to become the next president.

The selection committee will host a meeting in executive session tomorrow at 2 p.m. about the next steps in the presidential search.

Many of the students and staff who spoke condemned the “lack of accountability” in the selection process. They also questioned the board’s choice to meet behind closed doors and never seeking community input.

Amanda Fehlbaum, associate professor and director of the women’s and gender studies program at YSU, led chants with the crowd and asked them to come back again tomorrow.

Fehlbaum said there will be another rally held outside Tod Hall during the trustees’ meeting at 2 p.m.

“When I got hired, there was a phone call interview... and then they brought me to campus and I met with so many people,” said Fehlbaum. “I did talks with people about my research and teaching demonstrations. Why has the YSU Board of Trustees closed the doors to us? And held emergency meetings?”

“Shouldn’t we celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion for all?”

Tala Alsharif is the president of Students for Justice in Palestine at YSU.

Tala Alsharif, president of Students for Justice in Palestine at YSU, spoke against choosing Ohio Rep. Bill Johnson as the next president of the university. Kelcey Norris Mahoning Matters

Here’s what Alsharif said at the rally about Johnson:

“The lack of transparency and communication from the board only indicates that they do not respect the students and they do not care what we have to say. Johnson has expressed harmful stances that SJP does not agree with at all. Johnson is anti-immigration. There are members of SJP who are immigrants.

“How would immigrants and international students feel knowing that there’s a president actively against them? As SJP groups are being targeted across the United States, we want to have the right to speak up about the struggles that Palestinians face without feeling threatened or unsafe.

“He has failed to support any efforts to stop the genocide that is happening against Palestinians; at least 13,000 Palestinians have died so far. Bill Johnson is also anti-diversity, equity and inclusion. What does that say about YSU? Shouldn’t we celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion for all?”

“Rescind the offer”

Over two thousand alumni and community members signed a letter asking the committee to rescind its offer to Johnson.

“It’s so important for us to show together as a community that we care, we want to be involved in this process,” said Fehlbaum.

Sarah Lowry has received two degrees from YSU. Now she works at the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley.

Lowry referenced the Youngstown State’s mission statements and criticized the closed-door process the Board of Trustees was pursuing..

“’Community engagement is a cornerstone of collaboration that actively contribute to sustain the prosperity of the region and beyond. These principles are also reflected in the university’s values of centrality of students excellence and innovation, integrity and human dignity, and collaboration and public engagement,’” Lowry said. “That’s on the website, you can look it up.”

Lowry said having no transparency in the presidential search is “in direct conflict with these values.”

“The Board of Trustees must immediately abandon its current course to extend an offer to the next to the university without any transparent engagement with YSU students, faculty, staff, alumni or any other community,” she said. “Your voice is your power. Your voice is important here and I hope you realize that.”