Hindu students at St Edmund's College were told off by the college’s CR president, on the request of a senior college officer, for getting paint on the statue of the college saint during the festival Holi.

In a statement addressed to the student body on Facebook, the CR president urged those who had thrown powdered paint at the statue of Saint Edmund of Abingdon, a prominent 13th century Catholic and the college’s patron saint, to be “mindful of the objects and spaces belonging to different faiths”.

He wrote: “I was deeply saddened to learn that the statue of Saint Edmund of Abingdon was plastered with colouring during the recent Holi festival…I send my wholehearted apologies to our Catholic friends and colleagues. I’m sure we will all be mindful to avoid this hapenning again in the future”.

The CR president apologised to Catholic members of the college on the request of a senior college officer who had raised “serious concerns”. The announcement was also approved by the college chaplain.

St. Edmund's College told Varsity: “From time to time the college asks the CR to post information on their closed Facebook group as this is an efficient way of communicating to students".

While the CR president recognised that “there was no malicious motive”, he encouraged students to reflect on the community’s shared values of respect and tolerance. He said: “Let us be a force for unity and continue cultivating our understanding of each other’s beliefs”.

Celebrating the triumph of light over darkness, Holi is a Hindu festival during which observers throw powdered colouring at each other. One student on the College’s Facebook confession page pointed out that this paint is in fact “a sign of respect, love and symbol of good faith”. 

They said: “It was extremely well-intentioned and does not represent a lack of respect. St Edmund is a symbol of the college for all students, not just a catholic symbol”.

The CR president also attracted criticism for speaking on the behalf of all students when he had reportedly not consulted either Catholic or Hindu students. One St Edmund’s student told Varsity: “Reactions to the statement show that Catholic students didn't find the gesture offensive, and a predisposed statement put out without consulting students or colleagues is both unhelpful and divisive…The CR President's job is to represent the concerns of the student body to the Officers of the College, but this president has chosen to do the reverse."

In a statement, the CR told Varsity: “A senior college officer requested a message from the CR President addressing the situation. The college chaplain approved a statement, which was posted to our college CR Facebook page.

Holi is the festival of colour celebrating rebirth, love, and springtime. Students gathered to share this colour with the statue of St. Edmund outside the chapel, intending only well wishes and to champion diversity. They may not have considered the significance that the statue has to the Catholic community and how this could have come across as disrespectful. The students and organizers involved cleaned the statue and offered sincere apologies to the chaplain, and the issue was thereby resolved. The conversation was accepting, kind, and apologetic for all parties.

We remain proud that St. Edmund’s is one of the most religiously and culturally diverse colleges at Cambridge. We are continuously working towards fostering a harmonious community for our students”.