Megha Vemuri, the 2025 class president at MIT, was barred from her graduation ceremony after delivering an unsanctioned speech condemning the war in Gaza and criticizing MIT's ties to Israel during a commencement event. MIT stated she misled organizers and disrupted the ceremony, while Vemuri and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the university's decision as an infringement on free expression and due process.
MIT class president barred from graduation after speaking out on Gaza
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TL;DR: Key points with love ❤️Megha Vemuri, the 2025 class president at MIT, was barred from her graduation ceremony after delivering an unsanctioned speech condemning the war in Gaza and criticizing MIT's ties to Israel during a commencement event. MIT stated she misled organizers and disrupted the ceremony, while Vemuri and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the university's decision as an infringement on free expression and due process.
Trending- 1 2020-2024: MIT received $2.8m in grants from Israeli entities.
- 2 Last year (2024): Boston Globe reported on MIT's funding from Israeli entities.
- 3 Last month (May 2025): George Washington University student banned from campus after commencement speech.
- 4 Several weeks ago (May 2025): New York University withheld a student's diploma.
- 5 Thursday (May 29 or June 1, 2025): Megha Vemuri delivered her speech at MIT’s OneMIT commencement.
- 6 Friday (May 30 or June 2, 2025): MIT barred Vemuri from the undergraduate degree ceremony.
- Vemuri barred from graduation
- Debate over free speech vs. university rules
- Condemnation from civil rights groups
- Highlights ongoing tensions on US campuses regarding the Israel-Gaza conflict
What: Megha Vemuri, MIT's 2025 class president, was prohibited from attending her graduation ceremony after giving a speech criticizing the war in Gaza and MIT's financial ties to Israel.
When: Thursday (commencement event); Friday (undergraduate degree ceremony); last year (Boston Globe report on MIT funding, implied 2024); between 2020 and 2024 (MIT received grants from Israeli entities); several weeks after (NYU incident); last month (GWU incident).
Where: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States; New York University (NYU); George Washington University (GWU).
Why: Vemuri used her platform to protest the war in Gaza and MIT's financial ties to Israel, which MIT deemed a disruption and a violation of their agreement regarding the speech content.
How: Vemuri delivered a speech wearing a keffiyeh, deviating from the pre-approved text, and praised student protests while calling for MIT to cut ties with Israel. MIT responded by barring her from the subsequent graduation ceremony and campus until it concluded, citing her misleading organizers and disrupting the event.