The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) banned the class president from the university’s commencement ceremony a day after she gave a pro-Palestinian speech bashing Israel.
Megha Vemuri, the 2025 class president of MIT, was “notified that she would not be permitted” to attend Friday’s graduation ceremony, Kimberly Allen, a spokesperson for the university, said in a statement, NBC News reported.
The university’s announcement that Vemuri was not allowed at the commencement ceremony came after her speech on Thursday at the OneMIT Commencement Ceremony, in which she highlighted how undergraduate and graduate students at MIT had “voted overwhelmingly to cut ties with the genocidal Israeli military” last Spring. Vemuri also criticized MIT for its support of Israel.
“While that individual had a scheduled role at today’s Undergraduate Degree Ceremony, she was notified that she would not be permitted at today’s events,” Allen said. “MIT supports free expression but stands by its decision, which was in response to the individual deliberately and repeatedly misleading Commencement organizers and leading a protest from the stage, disrupting an important Institute ceremony.”
During Vemuri’s speech, she claimed that “academic institutions” throughout the United States were “shrouded in a dark cloud of uncertainty,” and noted that the students “cannot allow fear” to keep them from making an impact on humanity.
“It is no secret that at this time, academic institutions across the country are shrouded in a dark cloud of uncertainty,” Vemuri said. “The question of what will happen next echoes in our minds, and there is a lot of fear in many of our hearts. We must remind ourselves that when we came to this institution, we dreamt of the opportunity to make an impact on humanity. We have been given the privilege of access to a place like this, to a community like this, and it is now time to make use of it.”
“We cannot allow fear to keep us from doing that. You have faced the obstacle of fear before, and you turned it into fuel to stand up for what is right. You showed the world that MIT wants a free Palestine,” Vemuri continued as people in the crowd could be heard cheering. “Last Spring, MIT’s undergraduate body and graduate student union voted overwhelmingly to cut ties with the genocidal Israeli military. You called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. And, you stood in solidarity with the pro-Palestine activists on campus, you faced threats, intimidation, and suppression coming from all directions, especially your own university officials.”
MIT was among the universities in the U.S. that saw pro-Palestinian protestors establish encampments on campus in the Spring of 2024. Students involved in MIT’s encampment called for the university to cut research ties with Israel’s military.
“But, you prevailed because the MIT community that I know would never tolerate a genocide. Right now, while we prepare to graduate and move forward with our lives, there are no universities left in Gaza. We are watching Israel try to wipe Palestine off the face of the earth, and it is a shame that MIT is a part of it,” Vemuri added.
“The Israeli occupation forces are the only foreign military that MIT has research ties with,” Vemuri continued. “This means that Israel’s assault on the Palestinian people is not only aided and abetted by our country, but our school. As scientists, engineers, academics, and leaders, we have a commitment to support life, support aid efforts, and call for an arms embargo, and keep demanding now as alumni that MIT cuts the ties.”
After Vemuri’s speech, MIT Chancellor Melissa Nobles sent her an e-mail informing her that Vemuri’s “decision to lead a protest from the stage, disrupting” the ceremony was a violation of the university’s “time, place and manner rules,” the Boston Globe reported.
“Participation in Commencement activities is a privilege,” Nobles said in her e-mail to Vemuri. “You deliberately and repeatedly misled Commencement organizers. While we acknowledge your right to free expression, your decision to lead a protest from the stage, disrupting an important institute ceremony, was a violation of MIT’s time, place and manner rules for campus expression.”
During Nobles’ Commencement speech on Friday, students reportedly “erupted” into jeers, leading Nobles to tell them that the Commencement ceremony was for the graduates and their families, according to Boston.com.
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