"That's an old racist argument," Bundles said of Mansfield's theory. "This is the neighborhood goes to the dogs when you let Blacks in' argument."
In fact, some Black students at the time believed their grades suffered because of their race.
"On the contrary, there was a widespread feeling that professors were grading down [Black students]," said Daniels. "There's a notion of a conspiracy theory behind that.
Several graduates took exception to Mansfield's statement for statistical reasons. Some said they did not believe the Black population on campus was large enough to put significant upward pressure on grades.
"Minority students have historically been such a small percentage of the student body," said Henry W. McGee III '74, senior vice president of programming at HBO. "I don't believe professors graded based on race. And if you grant [Mansfield] that, minority students were such a tiny percentage anyway."
Rep. Barney Frank '62 (D-Mass) was a teaching fellow and later head section leader in Gov I, the largest class at Harvard during the '60s, from 1963 to 1967. He called Mansfield's explanation for inflation "nonsense," and said the testing process was largely anonymous.
"In some cases, you don't know who the students are," said Frank. "But if Mansfield wants to work himself into a tizzy...better that he spend time talking about this than doing what he usually does."
Race was not the only reason given by Mansfield for grade inflation. In a letter to The Crimson on March 10, the professor introduced another possible explanation: Professors might have inflated grades to prevent students from losing their draft deferments and having to go to Vietnam.
Some experts said they too believe the Vietnam War influenced grades.
"The faculty was very traditional and cautious about giving grades," said Epps. "What changed attitudes towards grades were events connected to Vietnam.
But students interviewed disputed this point, saying that no one flunks out of Harvard.
"That's a scam people would have cooperated with, but you had to work so hard to flunk out," said Kenneth M. Glazier '69, who was chair of the student-faculty advisory council. "If all you were trying to do was stay in College, there were always plenty of courses you could take to do that."
The lasting legacy of Mansfield's statements, however, might not be the search for truth about the origins of grade inflation, graduates said. Comments like Mansfield's, graduates said, serve more to hurt the present sense of community on campus than to give any insight into the past.
"It makes me sad, because I know what a wonderful time people in our generation had at Harvard," said McDougall. "Now to a certain extent, you're being deprived of the same experience."
Grade Inflation
Percentage of Undergraduates who reported cumulative averages at grades A+ through C