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yesterday

MIT Bars Class President From Graduation Ceremony After Pro-Palestinian Speech

University officials said her speech strayed from approved remarks by condemning MIT’s research collaborations with Israel’s military.

Megha Vemuri, student class president at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, denounces the school's ties to Israel during her 2025 commencement address, May 29, 2025, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Screenshot via X)
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Megha Vemuri began her Bachelor’s degree at MIT and was also a part of class council.
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Overview

  • Megha Vemuri opened her address by wearing a red keffiyeh and accusing MIT of complicity in genocide through its ties to the Israeli military.
  • The speech drew mixed reactions from the audience, with some graduates cheering and chanting “Free Palestine” and others showing discomfort.
  • MIT said she was barred from Friday’s commencement for deliberately misleading organizers by leading a protest from the stage.
  • President Sally Kornbluth upheld the principle of free expression in her subsequent remarks without directly addressing Vemuri’s statements.
  • The episode has intensified debates over political activism and free speech on university campuses and drawn scrutiny from the Trump administration’s tightened visa policies for protesters.