Katie Mosora, left, and Marlaina Marek, both of Brookfield, said their morning classes went fine Wednesday morning, despite the faculty union being on strike. Both students said they believe they have mostly part-time faculty, who are not members of the striking union. Staff photos / Ed Runyan

YOUNGSTOWN — Some Youngstown State University students who had in-person classes Wednesday morning said part-time instructors, for the most part, handled business as usual.

Wednesday was the third day of a strike by the faculty union — but the first day it had affected students, returning to classes after a brief fall break.

The faculty are represented by the YSU chapter of the Ohio Education Association.

Marlaina Marek of Brookfield said she had one in-person class in the morning with her regular instructor, and expected to have three more in-person classes in the afternoon with her regular instructors.

Marek, who was having lunch outside of the on-campus Chik-fil-A eatery, said she believes her morning instructor is part-time and not in the union, and thinks the three others later Wednesday are also part-time.

Marek was among several students who said they have been in email communication with their instructors, and have learned from them which ones were likely to be holding class normally and which ones were going to be on strike.

“He basically wants the strike to be over and things to go back to normal as close as you can get,” Marek said of her instructor that morning.

She said she knows professors “work hard and deserve a raise,” but with the nation’s coronavirus-related economic challenges, “I don’t think it’s the best thing,” she said of the strike.

Student Ian Miller of Warren said he thinks his instructor Wednesday morning is part-time — because “I believe if he was (in the union) he would be on strike.”

Miller was waiting outside for his next class and observed that the campus appeared to be less populated than on a normal Wednesday morning.

His class was “just as normal as any other day,” he said. There was no small talk about the strike before class began, he said.

One professor contacted the students by email and said he would not be teaching their class if there was a strike, Miller said.

“It’s a shame they have to do that,” he said of going on strike. “They should have decent pay. They shouldn’t have to worry about going on strike. The professors are very important to us.”

Cameron Durig of Howland said he had two classes Wednesday morning — one with his regular instructor and one with a substitute professor, but both classes were online. He was supposed to have an in-person class in the afternoon.

He went to Kilcawley Center on campus for both classes in the morning to participate virtually from his laptop.

“It was pretty normal,” he said of the virtual class with a substitute. “We followed the syllabus.” He said having professors on strike is “definitely different. I don’t think it will affect me a lot.”

Kasie Mosora of Brookfield said she thinks the instructor who taught her in-person class Wednesday morning was part-time. She was the same person who taught the class before the strike.

“She told the class we already have a lot going on with the pandemic. She didn’t want us going through more,” Mosora said.

A short distance away in downtown Youngstown, Daryl Kirtley of Greenford said he found it “kind of demanding to see people (on strike) with unemployment being what it is.” But he added, “I see the teachers’ side as much as the university’s.”

Kirtley said he questions whether the university has any more money to give the professors.

John Bratton of Youngstown, who was parking his car on West Federal Street on Wednesday morning, said the professors “get enough money now. The kids need their education.”

erunyan@tribtoday.com