Snowflake students in a twist... over whether Yes means Yes on dancef loor
IF A young man wanted to dance with a woman who had caught his eye, it used to be the case that all he had to do was ask.
But in this politically correct age it seems matters have become far more complicated.
It’s not enough for sensitive members of today’s ‘snowflake generation’ that someone has agreed to a dance in the first place. Instead they must repeatedly check that their partner is ‘still into this’ after the music has started, and offer to stop otherwise.
Yet again, it is America that is leading the latest wave of PC puritanism. At Princeton University in New Jersey – part of the elite Ivy League network of colleges – undergraduates were provided with detailed dancefloor instructions before their Orange and Black Ball (OBB) at the end of last term.
The advice came from a university body called the Sexual Harassment/Assault, Advising Resources & Education watchdog, known as SHARE. It said on its Facebook page: ‘Going to OBB this Friday? Planning to have a great time tearing up the dancefloor with your friends? Great! Check out some tips about what consent on the dancefloor looks like!’
In an accompanying poster, under the question: ‘What does consent on the dancefloor look like?’ is a silhouette of a dancing couple. Along- side are suggestions for how the conversation should unfold, with the question ‘Do you wanna dance?’ followed by possible responses such as ‘Absolutely!’, ‘Yeah! Let’s do it!’ and ‘I’d love to!’
The lines ‘Hey, are you still into this? We can stopif you aren’t!’ illustrate how students can keepchecking for consent even after the dance has begun, and are accompanied by warnings to frequently ‘check in’ with a partner and to wait for an answer.
But one British undergraduate at Princeton was sceptical about the guidance. Jens Clausen, 20, from Chelsea, West London, said: ‘It doesn’t have to be so blunt. There are ways of communicating the message without being so robotic. I think that most people can tell if the other person is enjoying themselves or not.’
However, Katie Massie, 19, said she liked the poster because it ‘raises the right questions’. ‘If you ask then you have an official decision about consent. I think it is important to ask and to double-check. Some people think it kills the sexiness. I think it makes you more comfortable. You have an agreement.’
Ellen Scott-Young, 21, who organised the OBB, explained that the poster was created as part of a campus-wide initiative
‘Check that your partner is still into it’ ‘We want parties to be fun and safe’
called UMatter, saying: ‘It is designed to promote responsible interpersonal behaviour on campus.
‘We want our parties to be fun, safe events.’
Critics say the poster is just the latest example of political correctness run amok, creating a generation of ‘snowflake’ students sheltered from real life by things such as the creation of ‘safe spaces’ on campuses and ‘trigger warnings’ before lectures about material they could find offensive.
Last week Britain’s Equalities and Human Rights Commission promised to clamp down on the ‘growing culture’ of political correctness constraining free speech and academic work.
A Princeton spokesman said last night: ‘This is not specific campus policy.
‘It was created by a student for students to help foster a respectful campus environment.’