Students in England were advised to use jazz hands instead of “whooping” and clapping to celebrate the election of a new student union president Thursday.
The National Union of Students advised students to wave their hands in the air so they’re considerate of deaf people when commemorating the election of Shakira Martin, the new president of the National Union of Students in Brighton, England, according to The Telegraph.
“No whooping, it does have a serious impact on some delegates ability to access conference,” said Estelle Hart, an elections committee member for the union. “Gentle reminder not to whoop.”
“We’ve had a number of requests that people stop whooping,” Shelly Asquith, the organization’s vice president for welfare also told students.
The Durham University chapter of the National Union of Students has put forward a motion to ban clapping and whooping for future union events.
“Access needs of disabled students are disregarded/overlooked in terms of conference member behaviour,” said the motion, according to The Telegraph, warning about impairing the “safety and wellbeing” of disabled students. “[There should be] reduced cheering or unnecessary loud noises on conference floor, including whooping and clapping” and “consequences for those who ignore this requirement.”
“Some delegates are requesting that we move to jazz hands rather than clapping, as it’s triggering anxiety,” said the National Union of Students in 2015. “Please be mindful!”
The National Union of Students features a page to “report racism and xenophobia.”
“Everyone has the right to feel safe on the street,” acknowledged the organization, “but for many people, leaving their house means risking verbal and sometimes physical abuse.”
The racism and xenophobia reporting system strives to “collect data over time to help monitor the correlation between these incidents and inflammatory speech from the media and politicians.”
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to the National Union of Students for comment, but received none in time for publication.
Follow Rob Shimshock on Twitter
Connect with Rob Shimshock on Facebook
Send tips to rob@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.