Students and alumni gathered at YSU's Tod Hall with one voice and a resounding message.

"NO MORE SECRETS, NO MORE LIES, NO MORE SILENCE," they chanted. "SILENCE WILL NOT PROTECT ANYONE," they continued.

Students walked out of classes and made their way to the president's house on campus to protest against Bill Johnson, who now sits at the helm of the university.

"Shame on you, YSU! Shame on you, YSU," the protest continued.

"It's just really upsetting to see that we have hired three new staffers that we haven't had in the last ten years, along with the highest-paid president that YSU has seen," said Audrey Jobe, a senior at YSU.

"We are mad that you kept all of us out. I'm on student government as well," said Zayda Stormer, a YSU sophomore. "We didn't even know that there was anything happening until they said 'picked somebody," she said.

On the flip side of all this, supporters also gathered to welcome Johnson to campus, saying that no one gave him a chance from the beginning due to his political background.

"He was ostracized and made out to be a villain when, in reality, he did nothing wrong," said Madison Lutz, a student at YSU. "He's here to show his support for us, so there's no reason we shouldn't be here to show our support for him," she said.

YSU-OEA President Mark Vopat sent a statement that reads:

"We've made it clear from the beginning that we were displeased with the Board's process and its selection, and clearly, many of our students are as well. Numerous folks have made suggestions for how to remedy this situation—suggestions that were ignored.

Now that Johnson is here, we will hold him to account for his commitment to transparency. One way he can do this from the start is to hold a town hall with faculty, something he said he would do in his initial interviews."

Johnson declined to comment on camera but told 21 News it's been a good and busy first day.