University students in the United States continue to bear the brunt of crackdowns on free speech regarding Palestine.
In one such incident, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) student of Indian origin, Megha Vemuri, was barred from attending the graduation ceremony after delivering a commencement speech calling for a free Palestine. In the speech she delivered on May 29, Vemuri accused MIT of being complicit in the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and of suppressing student voices.
MIT Chancellor Melissa Nobles in an email to Vemuri wrote that the latter was no longer allowed to attend the graduation ceremony on May 30. “On behalf of the senior leadership, we write to share that you are not permitted to attend today’s commencement ceremony and you are restricted on campus until 4 pm today. Your tickets have been deactivated.”
MIT Coalition Against Apartheid, a student group in a statement condemned the barring of Vemuri and stated that it exposes the persistent attack on pro-Palestine voices and the mounting pressure on the institution to drop all military contracts with Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD).
What did Megha Vemuri say in her commencement speech?
Her speech went viral on Thursday where she said, “You showed that MIT wants a free Palestine. 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. The Israeli occupation forces are the only foreign military that MIT has research ties with. As scientists, engineers, academics, and leaders, we have a commitment to support life. Support aid efforts, call for an arms embargo, and keep demanding that MIT cuts the ties.”
This comes amid extensive crackdowns at universities across the USA since Donald Trump took office in January 2025.
In another incident, New York University withheld the diploma of Logan Rozos after he condemned the genocide of Gaza in his graduation speech on May 15.
Israeli airstrikes have killed over 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023 including over 16,500 children.
