College students ban clapping, replace with 'silent jazz hands'

Applause can be tough to handle.

That’s the thinking behind a move by students at Oxford University in England.

The Student Union passed a motion to adopt the use of British Sign Language clapping — spreading your fingers and waving your hands back and forth, aka “silent jazz hands” — instead of the traditional banging your hands together.

The reason? According to the Oxford students, “BSL clapping is used by the National Union of Students since 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.”

In other words, it can be too stressful for some.

The girls from “The Real” talked about the idea last year.

The new method of recognition will be in effect “at Student Council meetings and other official SU events.”

And this isn’t the first time clapping has been replaced with jazz hands. In 2018, students at Manchester University made the move to quiet appreciations.

The Oxford students are hoping to get the full university on board with their change. The motion mandates that Sabbatical Officers “lobby the University” to replace applause with jazz hands at all university and college-level events.

That got us thinking: Why do we clap anyway?