Tensions at MIT's undergraduate commencement were high Friday after Class of 2025 President Megha Vemuri was banned from the event. The previous day, Vemuri gave a speech with pro-Palestinian sentiments and criticized the university's ties to Israel, as reported by The Boston Globe. According to the publication, MIT Chancellor Melissa Nobles emailed Vemuri Friday morning, informing her of the ban and accusing her of misleading commencement organizers and violating the ceremony’s protocol.
During a ceremony that took place on Thursday, Vemuri praised the spirit of her fellow graduates who had protested on campus against the Israel-Hamas war in spring 2024. "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," she said in her commencement address. However, her speech was met with mixed reactions from the crowd, including cheers, shouts, and some waving Palestinian flags. Vemuri also claimed that Israel's assault on the Palestinian people was "aided and abetted" by not just the country but their school as well, as reported by The Boston Globe.
The incident culminated on Friday when several students disrupted Chancellor Nobles' speech at the graduation ceremony in solidarity with Vemuri. "Excuse me," Nobles said as she tried to calm the jeers of the students, "I respect that you have a message to send, but this is not the time or place. Today is about our graduates and their families," she continued pleading, her words captured in a live recording and reported by Boston.com.
Responses to the university's decision were mixed among graduates. In interviews reported by The Boston Globe, Emma Zhu, a graduate from Westchester, N.Y., stated support for Vemuri's right to protest, noting, "At the end of the day, she should have the right to say her opinions, and this is probably her biggest moment to be able to express what she feels to the world." On the other hand, graduate Luc Picard was taken aback by the ceremony's interruption but expressed a general understanding of the need to protest on a large stage.
Despite the commotion, it was clear that Vemuri’s actions struck a chord with part of MIT’s student body, as chants of "Let Megha walk!" echoed around as Nobles addressed the crowd. Vemuri fought back against the claims that her speech constituted a "protest from the stage" and deemed the ban from campus as "an overreach," according to her email correspondence reported by Boston.com. MIT, underlining their commitment to free expression, stood by their decision to prevent Vemuri from attending commencement activities.
