YSU faculty and students protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandate

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Students and staff at Youngstown State University gathered to protest on campus against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate Monday afternoon.
The protest was organized by an engineering professor who said the vaccine should be a choice and feels only the most vulnerable should be required by the university to get the shot.
"Not all of the faculty are in agreement with the word on campus that vaccines should be mandatory, and a lot of us feel there is more than one opinion that hasn't been represented so we're out here to make that clear," Professor of Mechanical Engineering Technology and protest organizer Mike Costarell said, "I think there are other precautions we can make as individuals, you know, if you're sick you stay home... you wash your hands."
Protesters were gathering with signs and signing a petition against a mandate from noon to 1 p.m. between Todd and Ward Hall.
"This is just about the right of being able to choose what goes into our body no matter how you feel about it," Cassandra Dean, Mechanical Engineering Technology senior said, "The hope with the petition is that the faculty council will realize that not everybody wants it. This is not something that is wanted campus-wide."
As of now, the university has an indoor mask mandate in place and the university did announce last week it will not mandate a vaccine.
The OEA union representing the YSU faculty has been pushing for a vaccine mandate, saying it's the way to keep students and staff safe and stop the spread.