Who is Megha Vemuri? Indian-origin MIT student barred from graduation after campus speech; here's what we know

Time of India

2 days ago

Megha Vemuri, a graduating student of Indian origin at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), was prevented from attending her own commencement ceremony. The decision came after she delivered a speech supporting Palestine during a campus event, raising questions around protest boundaries and institutional response at U.S. universities.
Why MIT took disciplinary action
Vemuri had been assigned a formal role as a student marshal during the ceremony. However, days before the event, Chancellor Melissa Nobles informed her that she would not be allowed to take part in graduation. Her family was also restricted from entering the campus for most of the day. According to an email quoted in The Boston Globe, Nobles wrote that Vemuri had 'deliberately and repeatedly misled Commencement organizers.' Nobles clarified that while MIT acknowledges student rights to expression, leading a protest during an official event violated the institution's rules on time, place, and manner of protest.
What she said in her speech
During the speech, Vemuri wore a red keffiyeh, commonly associated with Palestinian solidarity, and criticized MIT for its ties to Israel's military. 'The Israeli occupation forces are the only foreign military that MIT has research ties with,' she said. She argued that these links make the institute complicit in the ongoing conflict in Gaza. She urged graduates to take a stand, calling for support for humanitarian efforts, an end to arms transfers, and the severing of institutional ties with Israel. She also acknowledged previous campus activism, pointing out student votes calling for MIT to cut connections with the Israeli military and support a ceasefire in Gaza.
Megha Vemuri. A bright neuroscience undergrad. Gets carried away. Wears Islamic Keffiyeh. Ignores Hamas Bloodshed. Bashes Israel & MIT. Misuses platform.No parent there would've wanted to listen to this BS. Activism should be kept out of Universities. pic.twitter.com/w135kH4pzD
Online reactions and personal background
After her speech went viral online, Vemuri's LinkedIn profile was taken down. Screenshots of it were shared widely on social media platform X. The Palestinian Youth Movement later identified her as the speaker. Born and raised in Alpharetta, Georgia, Vemuri graduated from Alpharetta High School in 2021. At MIT, she majored in computer science, neuroscience, and linguistics, and also served as class president. She is affiliated with Written Revolution, a student group focused on anti-imperialist perspectives. Before MIT, she interned at the Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and participated in several leadership and science programs.
Larger context on campus protests
Vemuri's case follows a wider trend of disciplinary measures against students involved in Palestine-related protests. At New York University, for example, a student's diploma was withheld after a commencement speech criticizing the Gaza conflict. At MIT itself, students have staged sit-ins and walkouts since April, demanding that the institution cut its academic and financial ties with Israel's defense sector. MIT has acknowledged such relationships but defended them as part of its educational and research commitments.
Vemuri has not made any public comments following the university's decision, but her supporters continue to voice criticism of MIT's handling of the matter.