Students have been dubbed ‘snowflakes’ after they demanded that clapping is banned because loud noise associated with it can allegedly cause people to suffer from an anxiety attack.
The “ludicrous” idea was proposed at Oxford University and is just one of the recent proposals to make the learning environment more ‘inclusive.’
According to the masterminds behind the idea to ban clapping, students could easily use the so-called ‘jazz hands’ gesture to show their appreciation.
Jazz hands is a hand gesture in which the person stretches their arms and splays their fingers before wiggling them up and down in a fast motion.
The gesture originated in music theaters and is now being encouraged at Oxford University as an alternative to loud clapping.
Following the proposal to replace clapping with the silent alternative during the meeting of the student union, the motion to dictate the encouragement of jazz hands was successfully passed by sabbatical officers Ebie Edwards Cole and Roisin McCallion.
As they suggested, clapping will be banned at various events and meetings where students could feel upset by the traditional way of cheering.
“Oxford University Student Union is always seeking to be more accommodating for students. Especially for those with accessibility issues,” one former student said after the news went viral. “But this idea will not work and is completely ludicrous.”
While not everyone agrees that banning clapping is the right way to address the issue at hand, Oxford University isn’t the first institution to swear by it. Just last year, the University of Manchester, along with several schools in Australia, have passed the same motion to ‘improve inclusiveness.’
Speaking of the motion, McCallion said: “The policy was proposed in order to encourage the use of British Sign Language clapping during our democratic events to make those events more accessible and inclusive for all, including people who suffer from anxiety. Inclusivity is one of the Students’ Union’s founding principles.”
What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to SHARE this post with your family and friends and follow us on Facebook for more news and stories!
[rumble video_id=v2zmj5 domain_id=u7nb2]