Publix censors ‘summa cum laude’ on graduation cake

Formerly beloved Lakeland-based grocery chain Publix has been having a hard go of it just recently. Progressive customers are up in arms about the amount of money the company has donated to Florida gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam, calling for a boycott, and that outrage has once again dragged the brand’s more conservative tendencies into the spotlight.

Now, to add absurdity to outrage, a story has broken about a South Carolina family that ordered a Publix cake for their son’s graduation, only to receive it bearing a censored version of the message they wanted:

“Congrats Jacob! Summa — Laude Class of 2018”

“Summa cum laude,” Latin for “with highest honors,” is a well-known phrase bestowed by many, many educational institutions upon students who graduate at the top of their class. But apparently Publix’s online ordering system was a little overeager in its attempts to keep vulgarity off the company’s popular cakes, and indulged in some premature auto-redaction.

(You know what I’m talking about, right?)

When the mom who ordered the cake for her son complained, Publix offered to remake the cake; she declined, but accepted a refund and a gift card.

Stay on top of Orlando news and views. Sign up for our weekly Headlines newsletter. 

This article appears in May 16-22, 2018.