Indian-American student barred from ceremony for pro-Palestinian speech

An IndianAmerican student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT was barred from attending her graduation ceremony after delivering a speech denouncing the war in Gaza according to media reportsMegha Vemuri the 2025 class president of MIT is the latest in the list of students to face discipline after protesting the war in GazaVemuri told CNN that after her speech the universitys senior leadership informed her she was not allowed to attend Fridays commencement ceremony and was barred from campus until the event concludedSchool officials confirmed that they told Vemuri that she was prohibited from attending the undergraduate ceremonyMIT leadership said that they stand by the punishment they issued to VemuriMIT 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 a school spokesperson said in a statementThe school said that she would receive her degreeVemuri who grew up in Georgia was a scheduled speaker at Thursdays OneMIT Commencement ceremony in Cambridge Massachusetts where she took to the podium with a keffiyeh a symbol of proPalestinian solidarity draped over her graduation robeShe praised her peers for protesting the war in Gaza and criticised the universitys ties to IsraelAn MIT spokesperson told CNN that Vemuris speech on Thursday was not the one that was provided by the speaker in advanceVemuris father Sarat said that she was a double major in computation and cognition and linguistics and was told that she would receive her diploma by mailVemuri said she was grateful for her family who have been present this week supporting her She says shes not disappointed about not getting to walk the stageI see no need for me to walk across the stage of an institution that is complicit in this genocide Vemuri saidI am however disappointed that MITs officials massively overstepped their roles to punish me without merit or due process with no indication of any specific policy broken she addedHe called MITs purported support of free speech hypocriticalThe Council on AmericanIslamic Relations CAIR has condemned the universitys decision to ban Vemuri from the ceremonyMIT must respect academic freedom and respect the voices of its students not punish and intimidate those who speak out against genocide and in support of Palestinian humanity CAIRMassachusetts Executive Director Tahirah AmatulWadud said in a statementCollege campuses across the US have witnessed protest encampments and accusations of antisemitism since the Hamasled attack on Israel in October 2023 and the ensuing war in GazaThe tensions coupled with the Trump administrations attacks on universities have left some school communities wrestling with how to balance civility and safety with open expression and debate The New York Times saidNew York University recently said it was withholding the diploma of a student who condemned genocide in Gaza while delivering a graduation speechSeveral students at Harvard Columbia and other universities nationwide are also facing disciplinary threatsAt the start of the school year in September MIT issued new school rules surrounding when and where students can protest on its campusSchool leadership has responded more strictly toward unsanctioned demonstrations this year which was a departure from the prior school year when protestors camped out on campusThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever