When South Carolina mom Cara Koscinski ordered a graduation cake for her son, she wanted to praise his 4.89 GPA and high honors, so she requested “Congrats Jacob! Summa Cum Laude class of 2018″ to be written in icing. Like so many cakes gone awry, it was all downhill from there.
Upon picking up the cake, Koscinski was horrified to discover that the grocery chain, Publix, had censored the word “cum,” which in Latin means “with.” Koscinski relayed the story in a Facebook post that gained viral traction on Sunday, the Washington Post reported.
“Publix refused to write the words Summa Cum Laude because I was using ‘profanity’!” Koscinski wrote. “They put three dashes instead of the word!”
https://www.facebook.com/ThePocketOT/posts/1871671102885284
Apparently, Publix’s online cake ordering system confused the Latin preposition with the slang sex term. Koscinski even clarified in her order that “Summa Cum Laude,” which means “with the highest distinction,” was in no way profane.
Alas, she was still stuck with a censored cake on the day of her son’s graduation party—and stuck explaining how “cum” can be a bad word to party guests, including her 70-year-old mother.
Her son was “absolutely humiliated,” Koscinski told the Post. “It was unbelievable. I ordered the special graduation edition cake. I can’t believe I’m the first one to ever write ‘Summa Cum Laude’ on a cake.”
Publix gave the Koscinski a $70 refund for the cake and a gift card, the Post reported. She declined an offer from the manager for the cake to be remade.
“You only graduate once,” she said.
H/T Washington Post