Youngstown State University student John Kovacs of Youngstown attends an on-campus protest Monday morning against YSU president Bill Johnson. ...Staff photo / R. Michael Semple

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State University President Bill Johnson began his term in office Monday, and the welcome he received from some students was almost as icy as the weather.

“Bill Johnson is not right for this institution,” said senior music education major Audrey Jobe. “You are not getting a warm welcome from me or anyone else gathered here today.”

Jobe joined about 50 students, alumni and faculty opposed to Johnson’s hiring outside Tod Hall — where Johnson’s office is located — about 10 a.m.

They and others have voiced loud objections since the YSU Board of Trustees voted 8-1 to hire Johnson in late November.

They have criticized the former U.S. representative’s positions on immigration, LGBTQ issues, support for former president Donald Trump and lack of experience in higher education. Protesters also have criticized what they say is a lack of transparency in the

hiring process by YSU trustees. Their outrage has been exacerbated by recent cuts to courses and faculty in the Dana School of Music and other colleges, which they decry as detrimental to students enrolled in those programs.

Students on Monday also castigated the university for Johnson’s record-high salary, and allowing him to hire three new administrative positions whose salaries total close to $300,000 while cutting programs and laying off faculty.

“It sucks that we’re here instead of in the classrooms getting the education we have paid for,” said senior political science major Rose McClurkin. “But here we are because this administration is refusing to hear us.”

McClurkin, one of the primary organizers of the protest, then handed the bullhorn to YSU alum Dan Catello.

“The events of the past two months call into question the very purpose of this institution. This place is the engine of the Valley, the heart that keeps Youngstown beating. Youngstown State University belongs to the people and is its people,” he said. “As long as there are those courageous enough to stand up and defend YSU, we will endure.”

Catello said YSU trustees, Johnson and political leaders in Columbus are trying to reduce YSU to little more than “a factory for sufficiently skilled workers.”

“They do not want this institution to generate great thinkers and leaders that can do what we are doing today — standing up and challenging their authority,” he said.

Professor Alicia Prieto Langarica expressed concern, but also optimism.

“With everything going on and the way things have gone down, it is easy to lose hope that anything we can do or say can have any impact,” she said. Langarica added, “I am here today because I want our new president to succeed. I want to take him at his word that he is willing to listen. … I want to believe that he will work with faculty and staff to help create an atmosphere that allows all students to succeed.”

But her optimism came with a warning: “I am here to hold this new administration accountable, today and for as long as it lasts,” she said, telling students faculty are there to support them. “This is your university. … and we will be here to continue the work to make it the university you all deserve,” she said.

Following statements, the crowd marched around Tod Hall to University Plaza and down to Wick Avenue, where they continued the protest in front of the Wick-Pollock House, where Johnson will live during his term.

They beat drums and chanted “Y-S-U, Shame-On-You,” carrying signs calling for the university to “Save Dana,” “Save The Arts,” and “Rescind The Offer…Get Johnson Out!”

At noon, also outside Tod Hall, Engineering Professor Mike Costarell held a small gathering to welcome and support Johnson.

“I just want to let the community know that there’s not zero support for Bill Johnson,” he said.

The crowd was considerably smaller than the student protest. It included only a handful of students and mostly older adults, including some alumni, who had voted for Johnson for Congress.