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India Today
9 hours ago
- Politics
- India Today
Sporting keffiyeh, Indian-American MIT student slams univ's Israel ties
Sporting a keffiyeh, a symbol of Palestinian solidarity, the president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Class of 2025, Megha Vemuri, slammed the university's ties with Israel and said MIT students wanted a "free Palestine". The Indian-American student was delivering the commencement speech at MIT's graduation also hailed the students of MIT for standing with the Palestinian people and said they would not tolerate the university's research links with the Israeli military, she said, "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," she added in her Thursday also urged graduates to take action beyond campus."As scientists, engineers, academics, and leaders, we have a commitment to support life, support aid efforts, and call for an arms embargo and keep demanding now, as alumni, that MIT cut ties (with Israel)," she also heaped praise on varsity students for their efforts in recent months to cut ties with Israel. "Last spring, MIT's undergraduate body and Graduate Student Union voted overwhelmingly to cut ties with the genocidal Israeli military," Vemuri said in her commencement her address, Vemuri also spoke of the atmosphere of uncertainty within academia and the significant challenges confronting student activists in the US. "It is no secret that at this time, academic institutions across the country are shrouded in a dark cloud of uncertainty," she said."The question of what will happen next echoes in our minds, and there is a lot of fear in many of our hearts," she STUDENTS WILL NEVER TOLERATE A GENOCIDE: VEMURI"You called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and you stood in solidarity with the pro-Palestine activists on campus. You faced threats, intimidation, and suppression coming from all directions, especially your own university officials, but you prevailed," she said hailing the varsity students, adding, "Because the MIT community that I know would never tolerate a genocide."Highlighting the devastation of Gaza's higher education system, she said, "As 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," she added.
Hindustan Times
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
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.
Hindustan Times
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Who is Megha Vemuri, MIT president who spoke out about university's Israel ties
Megha Vemuri, the president of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's class of 2025 called out Israel in her speech during the institute's graduation ceremony. Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday reposted a post by the news channel Drop Site which showed class president Megha Vemuri condemning the university's ties with Israeli military and the defence industry. She said that last spring MIT's undergraduate body and student union voted to cut ties with the 'genocidal Israeli military'. Students stood in solidarity for the pro Palestine activist on the campus. She also said that suppression was faced by pro Palestine supporters especially from university officials. Speaking on the university's ties with Israel she claimed that Israel is the only foreign military with which MIT has active research ties with. Born and raised in Alpharetta, Georgia, Megha Vemuri has been a prominent figure in student life at MIT. She recently completed her undergraduate degree in computer science, neuroscience, and linguistics from MIT and served as president of the graduating class. According to her Linkdin account, in 2021 she began her Bachelor's degree at MIT and was also a part of class council. She did her high school from Alpharetta High School in Georgia and passed out in 2021. Beyond her academic achievements, she also has experience as a research assistant at McGovern Institute for Brain Research. She is also a part of Written Revolution, which is a MIT student group and provides a platform to revolutionary ideas. Before that she worked as a research intern with the UCT Neuroscience Institute in South Africa. At MIT she was also artificial Intelligence teacher and helped create a curriculam related to neuroscience for high school students in Jordan. In 2021, she received the National Merit Scholar award, that recognises high school students for their strong PSAT. She has also published two research articles based around bird species and their social behaviour.
Time of India
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Who is Indian-American Megha Vemuri? Meet pro-Palestine MIT student calling out Israel's 'genocide'
Indian-American student Megha Vemuri Israel's 'genocide' in commencement speech (Pic credit: @KassyAkiva) If you haven't heard the name Megha Vemuri yet, you're about to. This 2025 MIT graduate has quickly become a lightning rod for attention, not because of a new tech invention or start-up, but because of a powerful, controversial commencement speech that's got people talking across the country. Megha, the president of MIT's Class of 2025, used her big moment on stage to do something most students wouldn't dare, call out her own university's connections to the Israeli military and express loud, clear support for the people of Palestine. It all happened on May 29 during MIT's graduation ceremony, and let's just say, it wasn't your typical feel-good, thank-your-parents kind of speech. Wearing a red keffiyeh, a traditional scarf that's come to symbolize Palestine, Megha stepped up to the mic and delivered some serious truth bombs. 'You showed the world that MIT wants a free Palestine,' she told her classmates, giving a nod to the student votes calling for MIT to cut research ties with the Israeli military. And she wasn't shy about calling out the administration either, saying students had faced 'threats, intimidation, and suppression' from the very institution they were graduating from. She is currently pursuing Bachelor's degree, Computer Science + Neuroscience, Linguistics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to this, she studied at Alpharetta High School. The most powerful part When she contrasted their celebration with the current devastation in Gaza. 'Right now, while we prepare to graduate and move forward with our lives, there are no universities left in Gaza,' she said. Megha wasn't just speaking in theory, she laid out real concerns about MIT's active research connections with Israeli forces, saying they're 'the only foreign military that MIT has research ties with.' And she made it clear: graduates should take that activism beyond campus, push for an arms embargo, and keep the pressure on institutions that prop up injustice. The room's reaction? A mix of support and discomfort. Some grads broke out in chants of 'Free, Free Palestine!' and waved flags. Others looked uneasy, clearly not expecting a commencement address to veer into global politics. As for MIT's president, Sally Kornbluth, she followed Megha at the podium, kept things neutral, and stuck to defending free speech, without directly addressing what was said. Now, if you're wondering whether this was a one-off moment for Megha, it absolutely wasn't. She's been involved in activism and advocacy throughout her time at MIT. She led a project called 'Written Revolution,' worked as a research assistant at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, and has always been one of those students pushing for deeper conversations around justice, identity, and global responsibility. Her speech isn't just making waves because it was fiery, it's part of a larger trend. More and more, students like Megha are using traditional academic spaces to take a stand on major global issues. Whether it's climate change, racial justice, or war and occupation, today's students aren't afraid to speak their minds, even in the most formal of settings. Of course, all this hasn't come without backlash. Some critics say a graduation ceremony isn't the place for political statements. Others argue that pointing fingers at institutions like MIT without considering the complexities of global politics is irresponsible. Love her speech or not, Megha Vemuri made sure people paid attention. In a cap, gown, and keffiyeh, she turned a graduation stage into a platform for truth-telling, and reminded everyone that even the most prestigious institutions aren't above criticism. So, who is Megha Vemuri? She's a student, a scientist, a writer, and now, an outspoken activist.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
How One Trump Is Saving Harvard's Next-Door Neighbor from Another Trump's War
As President Donald Trump seeks to defund, devalue and maybe destroy Harvard, another prestigious university a little over a mile away is escaping his unreasoning wrath. Since Trump is always ultimately about himself, we can assume that the reason is one he has often been able to cite as supposed proof of his 'good genes': that his paternal uncle was a longtime professor of particular brilliance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 'You know my uncle was a great—he was at MIT," Trump said in March 2020 while visiting the Centers for Disease Control headquarters in Atlanta. 'He taught at MIT for a record number of years,' Trump said 'He was a great super genius, Dr. John Trump.' John Trump did not teach for a record number of years, but he was a professor there for 44 years, the last seven as an emeritus researcher, receiving considerable federal funding throughout his decades there. And he was recognized as an actual stable genius among many who would have called themselves one. 'Genius, you have to be careful around here, we don't throw those words around here very loosely,' O. Robert Simha, who helped John Trump develop a new laboratory facility at MIT in the 1960s, told the Daily Beast. 'Everybody's in the same business trying to make the world a little bit better, do interesting things, and he was a wonderful example of that. He made a great contribution.' Among other things, John Trump made major advances in using radiation to treat cancer. He was the younger brother of Fred Trump, who went into the family business started by their widowed mother. The brothers were so different as to be an example of what genetics cannot explain about siblings. Fred was notably tall, irritable, conniving and avaricious, an unpleasant bully given to garish clothing. John was short, and his sibling's opposite in seemingly every way. 'He was remarkably even-tempered, with kindness and consideration to all, never threatening or arrogant in manner, even when under high stress,' fellow scientist Dennis Robinson wrote in his 1985 obituary of John Trump in Physics Today. 'He was outwardly and in appearance the mildest of men, with a convincing persuasiveness, carefully marshaling all his facts.' Robinson further noted, 'He cared very little for money and the trappings of money.' John did not name his laboratory or anything else after himself. He did not tell his colleagues he had won a Presidential Medal for Science in 1983. They only found out when it was in the newspaper. He had served his country with distinction: His citation with the National Science & Technology Medals Foundation notes, 'During World War II, Trump went to work at the MIT Radiation Lab, which used microwave radar to help with the war effort. In 1944, Trump headed the lab's British branch. After the liberation of Paris, he rode into the city with General Dwight D. Eisenhower to begin setting up a Paris branch for the lab.' A longtime colleague remembers that at a memorial gathering at an historic church in Lexington, Massachusetts, following John's death in February of 1985, Fred remained outside the entrance in an expensive-looking silk suit. 'He was just standing outside,' the colleague, noted medical physicist Bob Wenstrup, told the Daily Beast. 'He was not inside, where everybody else was. He was there just by himself, standing by the door, and with the impression that he was not going to go in there, and he was going to probably get the hell out of Dodge as soon as he could.' Fred struck Wenstrup as dour and crude and generally nasty. 'He made no pretense of being civil,' Wenstrup remembered. 'I shook his hand. I might have liked to cut it off.' Wenstrup does not remember John's nephew, Donald Trump, being there at all. But his uncle's colleagues and the rest of the country came to know him. 'John was as different from his nephew as you can imagine, and so I don't know why the DNA didn't spread over to his brother Fred,' Sinha told The Daily Beast. 'We haven't figured that one out yet.' Donald has nonetheless been quick to claim a genetic link to his genius Uncle John at MIT when in a place such as the CDC people might consider him to be a less-than-high-IQ individual. And that is surely why President Trump has largely spared MIT while fixating on Harvard. International students make up 27.2 percent of the total enrollment at Harvard. They make up 28 percent of the total at MIT. But Donald Trump has said nothing about foreign students at MIT, while seeking to bar Harvard from enrolling any at all. 'We want those names and countries,' he posted online. MIT has also been spared the ominous threats and demands regarding such matters as diversity and course content that Harvard declared unacceptable. Trump is moving to end Harvard's tax-exempt status and cut some $8 billion in research funding. To her great credit MIT president Sally Korbluth told the student newspaper The Tech that while the university is not seeking to provoke the Trump administration, it will stand up against 'incursions into academic freedom.' She indicated what is at stake for the whole county by pointing out a 2015 report that figured MIT has started over 30,000 companies that earn some $1.9 trillion a year. But while the uncle connection seems to have spared MIT from Trump's wrath, the university is still joining a host of other institutions - and science itself - in suffering his ignorance/indifference when it comes to cutting funds for research. 'He's been very respectful of his uncle's achievements here, but one can't really explain his mentality,' Simha said. 'He has already done us a lot of damage.' Simha continued, 'The real problem is that the evolution of science and engineering is not something you turn on and turn off, and it takes a long time to train people, to have them work on problems, have them struggle through bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees and then work on research programs that take an issue and develop it.' He went on, 'That's a long, long process. And when you stop it, when you cut off resources to support those young people, it does not come back. You lose it. And so you lose many years of talent that could have been put to much better use.' He described support for graduate programs as 'mother's milk in terms of science and engineering.' Cutting that off has a predictable result: 'You die,' he said. 'Whoever is advising [President Trump] is somehow untethered to the reality of how progress in this country is made.' He was talking about research such as in the past enabled John Trump to use his genius for the continuing public good. He noted that we have gone through other administrations that were anti-science, and we will get through this one. 'We've been through other times, and you could see the results when those people try to shut down science,' he said. 'We just lost many years of development in all kinds of fields.' He then said, 'But I mean, that's politics and you'll have to explain that to me sometime.' Wenstrup offered another measure of how different John had been from both his brother and nephew. 'If John had something to say, he'd say it very precisely, and then ask you if you agree or not, or is there more to be added to what he said?' Wenstrup said. 'So he was a man on a very steady plane. He knew what he was.' Combined with the brilliance and kindness and unfailing good temper, John sounded like exactly what we need in a Trump. 'Can we revive a dead man?' Wenstrup asked. 'Boy, we could really do something.'
