On Monday, November 28, 2016, students were harassed by the library security official for talking on the 3rd floor "Silent Floor" (in the front annex portion) of the Coleman library. The students were using the only available spacing in the library to conduct their group study session in an effort to complete their assignment and finish the semester on a good note. The library security official began to harass students and eventually summoned the campus police. Prior to calling them, the security official advised the group members to relocate not taking into consideration the lack of feasibility in the given option. The students were in no way being disruptive nor were they doing anything different than any of the other students sharing the available space. The library is, as its been in the past and as it will be in the future, at higher levels of occupancy due to approaching end to the semester. Due to the limited spacing in the Coleman Library especially during the final weeks of the semester, students are forced to use every available space to conduct meetings in an effort to meet assignment deadlines. These assignments often require group efforts. The issue is that group assignments require verbal communication.

We, therefore,  the student body at Florida A&M University, declare that in the spirit of finals, students should be allowed to verbally communicate on the front annex portion of the 3rd Floor  "silent floor" for the final two weeks of each semester, due to the higher than usual occupancy levels experienced through these final weeks.