Pro-Palestinian Rant at MIT Graduation Speech Sparks Boos, Backlash, and Walkout [WATCH]

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s 2025 commencement ceremony became the center of controversy on Thursday after a student speaker used the platform to sharply criticize Israel and accuse MIT of complicity in the ongoing war in Gaza.

The remarks sparked immediate backlash, including student walkouts, crowd disruptions, and a response from school officials.

Megha M. Vemuri, MIT’s Class of 2025 president, used her speech at the OneMIT Commencement Ceremony to praise campus protests against Israel and condemn the university’s research connections with the Israeli military.

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Her statements drew both boos and applause from the audience and prompted dozens of attendees, including Jewish and Israeli students and their families, to leave the ceremony.

“Last spring, MIT’s undergraduate body and graduate student union voted overwhelmingly to cut ties with the genocidal Israeli military,” Vemuri said.

“You called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. And you stood in solidarity with the pro-Palestinian activists on campus. You faced threats, intimidation and suppression coming from all directions, especially your own university officials.”

As Vemuri continued, her comments became increasingly pointed.

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“But you prevailed because the MIT community that I know would never tolerate a genocide. Right now, while we prepare to graduate and move forward with our lives, there are no universities left in Gaza,” she said.

“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.”

Video footage of the event, obtained by Fox News Digital, showed some attendees waving Palestinian flags and one individual clashing with security.

Others in the crowd shouted “Shame” as Vemuri accused the university of being “directly complicit in the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.”

She went on to claim, “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. 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 cuts the ties.”

Megha Vemuri, President Class of 2025, MIT & a woke deracinated Hindu used her graduation speech podium to speak for “Palestine” instead of talking about her batch

It’s incredible how these same woke Hindus choose to ignore plight of Bangladeshis Hindus pic.twitter.com/xOmUwr1r0O

— Sameer (@BesuraTaansane) May 30, 2025

One Israeli student, who chose to remain anonymous, told Fox News Digital, “All of our families came from far to see the ceremony and were extremely disappointed. All the Jewish families, not only the Israelis, stepped out and left the ceremony. MIT administration approved and supported that.”

Following the backlash, MIT announced that Vemuri would not be allowed to participate in Friday’s Undergraduate Degree Ceremony.

“With regard to MIT’s Commencement 2025 activities, the speech delivered by a graduating senior at Thursday’s OneMIT Commencement Ceremony was not the one that was provided by the speaker in advance,” an MIT spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“While that individual had a scheduled role at today’s Undergraduate Degree Ceremony, she was notified that she would not be permitted at today’s events.”

The spokesperson added, “MIT supports free expression but stands by its decision, which was in response to the individual deliberately and repeatedly misleading Commencement organizers and leading a protest from the stage, disrupting an important Institute ceremony.”

CONSEQUENCES for Megha Vemuri, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Class of 2025.

Vemuri was banned from attending the undergraduate commencement ceremony on Friday, May 30, 2025 for having performed a “switcheroo” after she delivered a pro-Palestinian speech during… pic.twitter.com/aAVKx8Qsbd

— Leslie Young ✡︎ (@AkaLazarus) May 31, 2025

The incident at MIT reflects a broader trend of pro-Palestinian activism disrupting university events across the country.

Demonstrations, walkouts, and clashes with law enforcement have taken place at numerous institutions since the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks triggered the latest escalation in the region.

Nearby, Harvard University is also under scrutiny from the Trump administration amid allegations of tolerating what officials described as “pro-terrorist” behavior on campus.

In response, Harvard has reportedly lost billions in federal funding.

The tensions highlight an ongoing national debate over the limits of protest and free expression on college campuses during a time of international conflict.

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