MIT denies graduation to Indian-American student over pro-Palestine speech

Indian-American MIT student Megha Vemuri was barred from her graduation ceremony for criticising Israel and supporting Palestine during a surprise speech

An Indian-American student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was barred from attending her graduation ceremony after delivering a speech condemning the war in Gaza.

 

Megha Vemuri, the 2025 class president at MIT, was informed by university officials that she could not attend her undergraduate commencement and would be restricted from entering the campus until the event concluded.

 

In a statement to CNN, MIT officials confirmed the decision, stating, “MIT supports free expression but stands by its decision, which was in response to the individual deliberately and repeatedly misleading commencement organisers and leading a protest from the stage.”

 

Vemuri’s speech, which she delivered at the OneMIT Commencement ceremony on Thursday, had not been pre-approved, according to an MIT spokesperson. 

 

The school said the speech she gave was different from the one she had submitted in advance. 

 

During her remarks, Vemuri wore a keffiyeh, a traditional scarf often used as a symbol of solidarity with Palestinians, draped over her graduation robe. She praised students for protesting the war in Gaza and openly blasted the university’s connections to Israel.

 

Despite being barred from the ceremony, MIT confirmed that she would still receive her degree. Vemuri’s father, Sarat, told CNN that she was a double major in computation and cognition and linguistics, and that the diploma would be mailed to her.

 

Meanwhile, Vemuri, who grew up in Georgia, expressed no regret about missing the ceremony. “I see no need for me to walk across the stage of an institution that is complicit in this genocide,” she told CNN.

 

She also criticised the university’s disciplinary action, calling it unjust. “I am, however, disappointed that MIT’s officials massively overstepped their roles to punish me without merit or due process, with no indication of any specific policy broken,” she said. 

 

Vemuri’s remarks come amid a broader wave of campus unrest across the United States. Since the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel and the subsequent conflict in Gaza, universities nationwide have faced student protests, encampments, and debates over free speech and antisemitism.

 

Other institutions have also taken disciplinary action in similar situations. New York University recently withheld a diploma from a student who condemned the war in Gaza during a commencement speech. Students at Harvard, Columbia, and other top universities have also faced disciplinary warnings.

 

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology had already introduced new protest guidelines in September 2023, limiting where and when students could demonstrate on campus. School officials have responded more strictly to unsanctioned protests this academic year, marking a shift from the previous year, when students had camped on campus with fewer restrictions.

 

[With PTI inputs]