A parade of seniors in their late sixties walked across the stage in blue caps and gowns in the city of Moore in Oklahoma on Saturday (June 9). They were the Class of 1974 formally receiving their high school diplomas 50 years after their graduation ceremony was abruptly cut short by a tornado warning.

On May 23, 1974, 500 Moore High School seniors  had just taken their seats in a football stadium under darkening skies when a school administrator came to the microphone and urged them to seek shelter.

Rain drenched the students as they hid under bleachers or drove away to safety.

A school trip was planned for the next day, so the ceremony couldn’t be held then, nor was it held later. Instead, the students were told to collect their diplomas from the school before the end of the year.

Their belated graduation ceremony was finally held on Saturday, June 9, after Mike Wilson, a Moore High School sports announcer and a 1974 graduate, discussed the idea with school and district officials recently.

Moore High School principal Rachel Stark, a 1988 graduate, told The Oklahoman that she was glad to have helped organize the event.

“It’s very unique,” she said. “I’ve never heard of it before. They’re still a part of our community… so we’re gonna do it for them.”

About 200 graduates formally received their diplomas on June 9. The weather was sunny and warm.

Poignant occasion

Family members of graduates  who had died were encouraged to walk across the stage on behalf of their loved ones.

The event followed a belated ceremony for another group of students whose commencement events were delayed — those who graduated at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sterling Crim, a Class of 1974 graduate, said: “We always knew our dream was to have a graduation.”

It was an especially poignant occasion for Crim.

His girlfriend, LeAnn Boyd, with whom he took shelter during the tornado warning, later became his wife.

They moved to San Antonio, Texas, for college. They settled there and were married for 47 years.

Eight years ago, his wife learnt she had colorectal cancer. Three years ago, she died.

“She always wanted to see a graduation,” said Crim.

Sources: BBC, The Oklahoman, The New York Times

Photo: Freepik

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How do you keep your cool when there’s no pistachio in your pistachio ice cream? A woman who unwittingly bought the said concoction went nuts. Finding no pistachio in her pistachio ice cream, a woman on Long Island, New York, filed a lawsuit. And a judge who moonlights as a magician agreed she had a case.

Jenna Marie Duncan of Farmingdale’s class action suit could end in a delicious payout for her and others aggrieved by the artificial ice creams they bought. But it’s early days yet. The jury has to give its verdict first.

Duncan complained about the ice cream she bought from a Cold Stone Creamery outlet in Levittown, Long Island. The ice cream’s bright green colour, and pistachio flavour were entirely artificial. She checked the ingredients and found no pistachio among them.

She accused Cold Stone Creamery’s parent company, Kahala Franchising, of false advertising.

Federal judge Gary Brown, who moonlights as a magician, larded his ruling with lyrics from songs about ice cream.

“This delightful dispute lies at the crossroad between these celebrated treats,” Brown wrote. “It raises a deceptively complex question about the reasonable expectations of plaintiff and like-minded ice cream aficionados.”

Duncan and others who have bought pistachio ice cream from Cold Stone could each receive up to $50 under New York law. They could get more if the state legislature passes a bill raising the maximum award for false advertising damages to $1,000.

Duncan contended Cold Stone customers deserve high-quality ingredients, considering the prices. A small size starts at $7.50, according to Cold Stone’s website, and customers must pay more for waffle cones, bowls and extra mix-ins.

Selling the flavour, not the substance

The Cold Stone website shows many of its ice cream flavours are artificial. The mint ice cream has no mint, the orange ice cream has no orange and the butter pecan ice cream has no butter, says Duncan.

The pistachio ice cream she bought in July 2022, according to the Cold Stone website,  has “pistachio flavouring,” made of water, ethanol, propylene glycol, natural and artificial flavours, and yellow and blue food colouring.

A Cold Stone Creamery manager said the flavours are artificial because some people are allergic to or don’t want nuts, even in their pistachio ice cream.

However, Duncan pointed out that many other brands, including Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s, use real pistachios in their pistachio ice cream.

A legal expert said that though the Cold Stone website lists the various ingredients, customers aren’t likely to look it up to find out what the ice cream is made of.

Jeff Sovern, a consumer protection law expert at the University of Maryland, said: “Would the reasonable consumer say, ‘Wow, I really want some pistachio ice cream, and I see this is labelled pistachio ice cream, but before I order it, I’m going to go to the website and see if it actually includes pistachios?’” Sovern said. “Well, I don’t think the reasonable consumer would do that.”

Source: Gothamist

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