Dozens of brightly coloured tags, carrying messages of hope and solidarity, were hung on trees outside the Alison Richard Building at the Sidgwick Site on Tuesday in a stand against hate and xenophobia.

The display, organised by a group of around 10 students across Cambridge, was arranged in response to recent significant events, such as the outcome of last week’s US presidential election. On what was a grey and overcast morning, the colourful spectacle attracted the attention of many passers-by, who were encouraged to write their own messages.

The mood at the event was cheerful, acting as a counter to the rise in xenophobia which has been perceived in countries including the UK over the past few months. In Cambridge, stickers with the slogan ‘Refugees not welcome’ were spotted in a park in Romsey at the end of September. 

Emma Goldberg, a Gender Studies MPhil student at Sidney Sussex, was part of the group of students who came up with the idea. Having become concerned about examples of bigotry and xenophobia around the world, she said that the “the impetus for doing this project was the US election last week, and in response to the wave of hate crimes that emerged, we wanted to signal our support as Cambridge students for the values of love, support and resilience.”

Loui Williams, a Newnham student who is studying for an MPhil in Gender Studies, and also helped organise the event, said: “It’s been a great way to start conversations with people about the US election and other events such as the recent arrests of Kurdish politicians, as well as violence in Syria and the rise of hate crimes.

“We’ve had messages in a range of languages and it’s been fantastic to have people come together in this way.” Williams also thanked those who came to write or read the messages, and said the tags would remain on the trees over the coming days for people to view them. 

Kerry Mackereth, a Corpus Christi student also studying for an MPhil in Gender Studies, said: “We think there’s justifiably a place for anger in the light of recent events, but we also want to encourage unity and love as the answer to hatred.” 

Megan Jones, a second-year linguist at Clare College who wrote a message on a tag, said she liked the idea that the display combined nature with love, and commented: “It’s beautiful to see people taking time out of their day to write messages of love to all branches of humanity.”