# "Summa cum laude" graduation cake design rejected due to perceived vulgarity **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 22, 2018, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619 "2018-05-22T15:33:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/21 "2018-05-22T17:57:08Z")
Fun fact: “Valedictorian” does _not_ refer to the student who graduates at the top of the class. It refers to the person who delivers the final, closing statement (“valediction”) at the graduation ceremony, who is often – but not always – the student who graduates at the top of the class. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/22 "2018-05-22T18:08:01Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > It was an online system with a rude word filter that wasn’t smart enough to know Latin phrases. Kind of waters down the “people are morons” headline narrative. Several years ago I stopped receiving data from a company. They said that nothing had changed on their end, and that their system automatically sent the data every month. On of their accounts was on **Dike** Road. Their system thought that was dirty and would not send the file to us. :rolleyes: (They did eventually correct the problem.) ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/23 "2018-05-22T18:08:03Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > How does a home-schooled kid \*not \*graduate at the top of his class? One has to be an extra special kind of stupid to not graduate in the top of a class on one (or two if a twin). > [@aceplace57](#): > > Honors can be a great motivation. > > I wasn’t a good student. Making the Deans List meant a lot to me in college. I got a letter at the end of the semester. > > It’s not a high award, but I worked my ass off for it. I know of an entire fraternity that made the [Dean’s List](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tfK_3XK4CI&t=1m9s). ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/24 "2018-05-22T18:10:57Z")
My favourite example of a naughty-word filter that’s not smart enough is in a mobile game I play called Love Nikki - it’s a dressup game, which lets you create outfits to be shared with the other users. The filter for the descriptions is…very interesting. Not only does it have no sense of context, not only is it subject to the Scunthorpe problem, but it’s also got words filtered that make using the clothing’s names, stats, and in-game description difficult. (There are workarounds - spaces, misspellings, and accented characters are most common.) Problem censored strings include av (meaning ‘adult video’), sm, loli, sex, tit, ‘ligen’ (inexplicable!)…and a bunch more, but these are the ones I’ve had reason to run foul of… The words have, save, gave, rave, small, title, competition, diligence, and the Lolita, Unisex, and Sexy tags…all require workarounds to use them in the descriptions. Annoyingly, they don’t apply any filter to the usernames, so, I can’t say ‘I have to work diligently for the title’, but I can run across someone named slutpuppy while I work di\*tly for the \*le. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/25 "2018-05-22T18:35:01Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > It was an online system with a rude word filter that wasn’t smart enough to know Latin phrases. Kind of waters down the “people are morons” headline narrative. The software didn’t bake and decorate the cake though. Human intervention should’ve filled in the missing word. I also had the unworthy thought that _summa cum laude_ was a slightly dubious appellation when applied to a home schooled student. Reminded me of a Labrador of ours that graduated at the top of her obedience class.\* \*The other dog in the class stopped showing up. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/26 "2018-05-22T18:35:36Z")
Well, some come quietly, summa cum laude. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/27 "2018-05-22T18:55:17Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I understand it to mean “with highest honor,” awarded to graduates in the top 1-5% of their class. OK - at my daughter’s high school, there were GPA ranges for Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude and Summa Cum Laude. Graduates were awarded different colored cords depending upon their averages. _Theoretically_, everyone could have been Summa. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/28 "2018-05-22T19:16:11Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > It was an online system with a rude word filter that wasn’t smart enough to know Latin phrases. Kind of waters down the “people are morons” headline narrative. Software designers are people too. Software designers who design incompetent “naughty language” filters are idiots as well. ---
**Author:** ![CharmaChameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@CharmaChameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CharmaChameleon)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/29 "2018-05-22T20:32:47Z")
As to how a home schooled student might receive a _cum laude_ (with honor), _magna cum laude_ (with high honor), or _summa cum laude_ (with highest honor) phrase, maybe the South Carolina student was “enrolled” through an “umbrella school”, through which grades and attendance, diplomas, and honors are recorded, and academic records are reported. In Alabama it is not uncommon for an umbrella school to “cover” quite a few home schooled students. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/30 "2018-05-22T20:40:48Z")
Internet filtering is no joke. Beaver College changed their name to Arcadia University in 2001 partly because prospective students were having trouble finding their website via web search. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/31 "2018-05-22T20:46:06Z")
What does a homeschool graduation even look like? (Besides sad!) Does he get all the awards? Who claps? What about the hat and tassel? Is there a prom? Does the band play? I am just imagining a thousand things now! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/32 "2018-05-22T20:46:15Z")
I’m reminded of [this thread about a pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=619977). ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/33 "2018-05-22T20:48:13Z")
One of my colleagues put a blocker on her home computer, and found out that she couldn’t access the Pharmacy Times website because it was about drugs. I also heard about an elementary school whose kids couldn’t access [marsexploration.com](http://marsexploration.com) because it had s-e-x in it. As for me, a few years ago I was on vacation and couldn’t access a fiber arts website because the phrase “female genital mutilation” was somewhere in the message board. :smack: Anyway, someone on Facebook said that the chances are, the bakery has a list of words that they are not allowed to put on a cake under any circumstances, and “cum” was one of them. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/34 "2018-05-22T21:07:17Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Well, some come quietly, summa cum laude. But sumos, they are too big to _not_ cum laude. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/35 "2018-05-22T21:37:19Z")
There was a time when I used to go around calling random people “homo sapiens” or “heterosexual.” Almost got my ass kicked a few times. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/36 "2018-05-22T22:22:24Z")
Heh heh. Heh heh. “Pube-licks.” ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/37 "2018-05-22T22:34:42Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Too bad he didn’t graduate smegma cum laude. > > Regards, > Shodan This wins the thread. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/38 "2018-05-23T01:10:46Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > The software didn’t bake and decorate the cake though. Human intervention should’ve filled in the missing word. > > I also had the unworthy thought that _summa cum laude_ was a slightly dubious appellation when applied to a home schooled student. Reminded me of a Labrador of ours that graduated at the top of her obedience class.\* > > \*The other dog in the class stopped showing up. Actually I think the decorating IS all automated. Still a request being censored should trigger an automatic notification that such is occurring. Do some home school programs have “virtual” classes with standardized assessments shared across their populations? I was under the impression that such is the case and that the honor would be based on relative performance on those assessments. Could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/39 "2018-05-23T11:25:03Z")
When people think of homeschooling, they think of a one on one thing with parents teaching their kids, but there are a bunch of home school situations where it’s a bunch of families together. So this kid could have been like one of 20 or 30 in his class. And most home schools use standardized curricula and lesson plans created by academic companies for the homeschooling market. So it’s not all just ad hoc. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619/40 "2018-05-23T11:46:53Z")
Stephen Colbert went crazy with this last night. They even made up a set of six cupcakes with “CUM” written out in icing on top to make up for the lack, and said they were sending a box o the kid. He also made **Thudlow Boink** ’s “Pube-Licks” joke. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summa-cum-laude-graduation-cake-design-rejected-due-to-perceived-vulgarity/814619.md?page=3)