YOUNGSTOWN — Members of Youngstown State University’s faculty union are expected to protest the school’s coronavirus masking policies at 9 a.m. today outside Tod Hall.

The union representing approximately 400 university employees is objecting to the school’s decision not to require employees and students to wear masks inside campus buildings at a time when other state schools are requiring that masks be worn indoors.

They are concerned that the rise of the delta variant makes it unsafe for both students and employees on campus.

According to YSU’s website, individuals on campus are encouraged, but not mandated, to wear a face covering and to remain physically distanced. The school also is encouraging everyone in the YSU community to become vaccinated.

The lack of mandates worries union members.

“YSU is an outlier among its peers, as one of the only public universities in Ohio not requiring social distancing or masks to be worn indoors,” Mark Vopat, a spokesman with YSU-Ohio Education Association, said. “Some public universities, such as Akron, Kent and Cleveland State, are requiring masks inside the buildings. Some are also requiring vaccinations and testing.”

Vopat said these other universities are more closely following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations than YSU.

Vopat, who teaches at YSU, emphasized that employees can individually decide to wear face masks while on campus, but they cannot require their students or anyone else to wear masks either during their classes or during office hours.

Vopat said some of his classes are being taught online, others may be taught outdoors, but at least one of his larger classes must be taught inside in a windowless room that is too small to allow proper social distancing.

“School will be back to where it was prior to the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020,” he said.

The university’s decision-making process came under scrutiny this week when reports of some of the personal social media posts of YSU’s Environmental Occupational Health and Safety Director Julie Gentile came under scrutiny, the union noted.

Some of the posts were labeled misinformation about COVID-19, according to the union. Some posts criticized mask and vaccine mandates.

“We have made public records requests on how the university came up with its mask and vaccination policies,” Vopat said. “We know it is not any one person making these decisions, but a team of persons.”

However, he added, the union wants to know what influenced the decisions that have been made.

With fall classes beginning in about two weeks, the university continues to review all of its COVID-19 protocols and will make adjustments when necessary, said YSU spokesman Ron Cole.

“We are in the process of gathering more information regarding masking on campus,” Cole said. “That process includes a survey seeking information from students and employees regarding vaccines and campus protocols.”

It also includes meeting with local and county health officials.

“As that information gathering continues, we will inform the YSU community of any changes via email and the university’s COVID-19 website,” Cole said.

rsmith@tribtoday.com