Hold your applause, please.
The University of Oxford has voted to nix clapping in favor of “silent jazz hands” at their future commencement ceremonies to show solidarity with the hearing-impaired.
“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 UK student council representatives wrote in a statement on Oct. 23.
The preferred ovation — silent jazz hands — is the British Sign Language translation for clapping.
In their statement, the reps also wrote that they hope to “encourage” jazz hands in lieu of clapping, though it is not against the rules to clap.
During the school’s initial announcement, Oxford Sabbatical Officers Ebie Edwards Cole and Roisin McCallion wrote that “the use of British Sign Language clapping … [is] to make those events more accessible and inclusive for all, including people who suffer from anxiety.”
But the announcement failed to make clear that the decision stems from hearing-impaired communities, which left many to assume that the silent applause was meant to appease so-called “snowflakes.”
Nevertheless, the move has stirred some backlash on social media.
“Can we [simplify] things and get a list of things that aren’t triggers for these low wattage daffodils?” said one dissenter on Twitter. “Is there anything left that isn’t triggering or otherwise offensive?”
“Thank god for Cambridge,” quipped another.
Indeed, sensitivity to loud noises, called hyperacusis, is a symptom of anxiety, as well as other illnesses and conditions including autism, head injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
However, one objector to Oxford’s mandate did raise an interesting point on Twitter: “But what about those people who are visually impaired?”