David Kato College winning shield design

Posted on 25 April 2022

Two PPE students win competition

shield featuring a unicorn and a peacock

The new David Kato College is set to open its doors to students in September this year. Following the announcement of the college name, a student-wide competition was launched to design the college shield which acts as a college logo.

The shape of the college shield, along with the line weightings, is intentionally organic, to complement the beautiful landscapes and surrounding lake on Campus East, where the David Kato College is situated.We are delighted to announce that the winners of the competition, with a joint shield design, are Isobel Allen and Leila Pathirana. Isobel is a first year student of Economics and Philosophy, and Leila, a first year student of Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Their entry was accompanied by a very detailed explanation behind all of the elements included in their design:

The shield displays the Yorkshire rose which represents the respite, safety and ‘home away from home’ Kato was offered by the University of York when his life was threatened in Uganda.
The two green carnations were a symbol popularised by Oscar Wilde to signal that one is a member of the gay community.
Honouring Kato’s heritage, a Ugandan kob and the national animal; the crested crane, are used as they appear on the Ugandan crest of arms, representing Uganda's abundant wildlife.
The lambda symbol, sitting at the heart of the crest, and nestled between the kob and the crane, was the officially adopted symbol for gay and lesbian rights in 1974.
The gold banner reading “A luta continua” was a phrase seen on t-shirts worn by the friends and family of David Kato at his funeral. The translation is: “the struggle continues” and is used by activists who are fighting for independence and liberation today.