MIT bans 2025 class president from commencement after anti-Israel speech

Megha Vemuri, MIT 2025 class president, was banned from attending Friday’s undergraduate commencement ceremony after she slammed Israel’s alleged “genocide” in Gaza during a Thursday speech.

“We have been given the privilege of access to a place like this, to a community like this, and it is now time to make use of it,” Vemuri said during her address at the 2025 OneMIT Commencement Ceremony. “You showed the world that MIT wants a free Palestine.”