Posted on 10/25/2019 5:12:28 AM PDT by MarvinStinson
The Oxford University student council is lobbying the prestigious British university to end applause, arguing that it could trigger anxiety and was unfair to disabled students.
The Oxford Student reported Wednesday that the council had passed a motion to "mandate the Sabbatical Officers to encourage the use of British Sign Language (BSL) clapping, otherwise known as ‘silent jazz hands' at Student Council meetings and other official SU events," and to "lobby the University" to make similar changes.
"Loud noises, including whooping and traditional applause, are argued to present an access issue for some disabled students who have anxiety disorders, sensory sensitivity, and/or those who use hearing impairment aids," the university newspaper said.
The students' decision comes a year after the University of Manchester Students' Union made the same move to "avoid triggering anxiety and improve accessibility."
Enthusiasm for banning clapping has been growing among students in the United Kingdom since at least 2015, when the National Union of Students' Women's Campaign warned conference delegates that applause was "triggering anxiety" in the crowd.
Some delegates are requesting that we move to jazz hands rather than clapping, as it's triggering anxiety. Please be mindful! #nuswomen15
— NUS Women's Campaign (@nuswomcam) March 24, 2015
Since then the movement has picked up more mainstream acceptance. Conservative Party MP Cheryl Gillan asked her colleagues Thursday if the British Parliament would consider moving away from applause as well.
"Perhaps we could also have an experiment in this House that would create a more relaxing environment for autistic visitors including returning to waving our order papers in the air rather than clapping, that often causes distress to people with autism," she suggested.
I really thought that Oxford (and Cambridge) would not succumb easily to the U.S. university disease of letting idiots in and allow them to actually pretend that they were sentient beings.
But then again, I didn’t fully understand the power of the farce.
We’ll just blow air-horns instead.
Goodness gracious. Try to get that pushed in some of the graduation ceremonies here in the USA. People will die if they do not get to celebrate the graduation of their homey.
LOL. And autistic people don’t get upset by waving arms and papers.
— NUTS Women's Campaign (@nutswomcam) March 24, 2015"
Fixed
Why don’t they just kill themselves. They obviously get no joy out of life
Just do like The Beatniks and snap fingers.
They all appear to be nuts, Jim.
They need to cancel breathing!
Next they’ll suggest public wanking to show approval.
I saw a woman named Sara Khan pushing this in the UK. It turns out that many in Islam consider clapping forbidden. Probably another coincidence. It’s like when London’s Mayor Khan said he was against bikini bus ads because he supports women’s empowerment.
Does that apply to plays and concerts too?
Maybe they should try it first at Rugby and soccer matches, see if it works there.
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