On May 21, 2001, President George W. Bush spoke at the Yale commencement, 33 years after his own Yale degree. “To those of you who received honors, awards, and distinctions, I say, well done,” he said. “And to the C students,” he went on, and the audience applauded, “I say, you, too, can be President of the United States.”
College students have a shorter version: “C’s get degrees.” A 2024 opinion piece in the student newspaper of The College of New Jersey explained it. “With minimal effort and average grades, one can still finish four years of college with a paper diploma.” The headline called it “a dangerous mentality.”