Elected class president denied role and campus access after delivering unsanctioned remarks criticizing MIT’s ties to Israeli military
A graduation ceremony at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) took a dramatic turn when Megha Vemuri, an Indian-origin student and the elected president of the Class of 2025, was banned from attending her own commencement. The decision followed a powerful and controversial speech in which Vemuri condemned MIT’s alleged ties to the Israeli military and expressed solidarity with Palestine, reported timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
“Israel’s assault is aided by our school,” Vemuri said, urging classmates to demand MIT cut military research ties.
During a pre-commencement event on May 29, Vemuri, wearing a red keffiyeh—a symbol of Palestinian solidarity—delivered a speech that sharply diverged from the version she had submitted in advance. She accused MIT of supporting “genocide” through its research collaboration with Israel and called on graduates to back an arms embargo and sever institutional partnerships.
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Vemuri’s speech, which went viral after being posted by groups like the Palestinian Youth Movement, garnered both support and backlash
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While some praised her for speaking truth to power, others accused her of politicizing a celebratory event meant for unity and achievement
MIT defends decision, says Vemuri “misled organizers” and violated campus expression rules.
In response, MIT revoked Vemuri’s role as student marshal and barred her and her family from campus during graduation. Chancellor Melissa Nobles said the university’s actions were based not on the content of her speech, but on her “deliberate and repeated” misrepresentation.
“You led a protest from the stage, disrupting an important institute ceremony,” Nobles wrote in an email. MIT emphasized its rules on “time, place, and manner” of expression, arguing that structured ceremonies must remain politically neutral.
Vemuri defends speech, criticizes MIT’s response as suppression of student voice.
Vemuri admitted her speech was intended as a protest but criticized the university’s response as excessive and silencing. While she has not issued a public statement, she reportedly called the administration’s disciplinary measures “an overreach.”
Amid rising online criticism and targeted backlash, Vemuri deleted her LinkedIn profile. Her exclusion comes at a time of intense pro-Palestine activism on U.S. campuses, with MIT students earlier voting to end research ties with Israel’s military.
At heart of debate: Free speech or procedural violation?
MIT’s decision has reignited national debate over student activism, academic neutrality, and the limits of free expression. Was this a necessary enforcement of institutional process—or a troubling suppression of student dissent?
For many, the image of a student leader banned from her own graduation has become symbolic of a broader reckoning within American universities on the role of activism, accountability, and the price of speaking out.
