Indian-American student Megha Vemuri calls out Gaza genocide in graduation speech: ‘MIT wants a free Palestine'
At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s graduation ceremony, Class of 2025 president Megha Vemuri, an Indian-American student, used her speech to strongly support Palestinians and speak out against the school's ties to Israel.
Vemuri wore a red keffiyeh, a scarf that shows support for Palestine, as she spoke to fellow graduates, families, and faculty. 'You showed the world that MIT wants a free Palestine,' she said.
Her comments came during a time of growing protests across US college campuses about the war in Gaza and universities' connections to companies or groups involved in the conflict. Vemuri spoke about how this has made things uncertain for students and schools.
She criticised MIT's links with the Israeli military, calling it a serious concern for the school's morals.
'The Israeli occupation forces are the only foreign military that MIT has research ties with; this means that Israel's assault on the Palestinian people is not only aided and abetted by our country, but our school,' Vemuri said.
Despite pressure from university leaders, she praised students who have stood up in support of Palestine.
'Last spring, MIT's undergraduate body and Graduate Student Union voted overwhelmingly to cut ties with the genocidal Israeli military. You called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and you stood in solidarity with the pro-Palestine activists on campus," She said, praising students for standing their ground despite facing 'threat, intimidation, and suppression coming from all directions, especially your university officials.'
Megha Vemuri further added, '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.'
She compared the situation of MIT graduates with students in Gaza: 'While we prepare to graduate and move forward with our lives, there are no universities left in Gaza.'
'As scientists, engineers, academics, and leaders, we have a commitment to support life, support aid efforts, call for an arms embargo, and keep demanding now, as alumni, that MIT cuts the ties.'
At the end of her speech, Vemuri asked her classmates to turn their class rings outward, a tradition that represents graduates stepping into the world.
But her closing words were serious and direct, 'We carry with us the obligation to do everything we can to stop it,' she said.
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