David Theobald
I see with dismay, but not surprise, that Oxford University is the latest British educational institution to adopt this ridiculous jazz hands rubbish in lieu of clapping. This is to avoid triggering or offending those who may be disturbed by loud noises. Give me a bloody break.
More evidence, if it were needed, that the long march through the institutions is a runaway success.
My tertiary education at a British university (London) in the early 1970s was far from perfect but I identify the deficiencies as course content (too much useless biochemistry and not enough, alright no, statistics) and not social engineering crap.
Jazz hands may seem a trivial matter but it is emblematic of the decline of what a tertiary education should be. It glorifies weakness (perceived or real – I mean how many people in their late teens/early twenties are adversely affected by clapping for goodness sake) and enshrines it in regulations. If you were to tell these so-called victims, and I doubt any of them actually exist, to just harden up you would, in this nutty world, be accused of a hate crime. And the charge would likely stick.
I despair at the direction things are taking, I really do. And this at Oxford University which has been providing education for 750 years. But I suppose it was the place where ‘Rhodes Must Fall’ gained traction so why am I surprised?