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Following the backlash she faced for her pro-Palestine speech, Megha Vemuri deactivated her LinkedIn profile.
Megha Vemuri and her family were banned from campus. (Photo Credit: X)
Megha Vemuri, an Indian-American student and president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Class of 2025, made headlines after she delivered a speech to condemn Israel’s actions in Gaza. She also criticised MIT for its research ties with the Israeli military.
Wearing a red keffiyeh, a well-known symbol of Palestinian support, Megha said, “The Israeli occupation forces are the only foreign military that MIT has research ties with.” She further praised students who have been protesting on campus for months and said, “You showed the world that MIT wants a free Palestine.” Megha also claimed that protesters had faced “threats, intimidation, and suppression” from the MIT administration.
During her speech, Megha made a comparison between the celebration in Cambridge and the harsh reality in Gaza, saying, “Right now, while we prepare to graduate and move forward with our lives, there are no universities left in Gaza.”
Soon after her speech, a flood of negative comments poured in online. The backlash was so intense that Megha decided to take down her LinkedIn profile.
One user on X (formerly Twitter), named Ouriel, posted screenshots of Megha’s deactivated LinkedIn profile and wrote, “Make that b*tch famous. May she never find any career path and be humiliated for what she just did and did before that. PS: Megha if you really want to sound cool, work on your “rrrrrhaazzzza” accent.”
Another person said, “They should have pulled her off the stage and begun deportation proceedings on the spot.”
“She should buy a one-way ticket to Gaza right away and go work on the ground!!” someone else commented.
A person accused her of seeking attention, writing, “This attention-hungry lady did all for applause and attention. If she is so anguished and in pain, she should go to Gaza and help those people to relieve them of their suffering. Blight for natives.”
“If MIT graduates can be so easily swayed by one-sided narratives, what hope is there for the average person? This is a failure of critical thinking at its core,” read another comment.
“She is an example of how to hit your feet on an axe just to show the world how brave she is!” an individual remarked.
Another sharp comment read, “She not only wasted his parents’ money to put her through top school, she also embarrassed her whole family by pulling such a stunt. What a shame!”
Megha, who was supposed to serve as the marshal at the commencement ceremony, was informed by MIT’s chancellor, Melissa Nobles, that she would not be allowed to participate.
The Boston Globe reported that Nobles sent an email to Megha stating that both she and her family were banned from campus for most of the day following her speech.
“Participation in Commencement activities is a privilege. You deliberately and repeatedly misled Commencement organisers,” Nobles wrote, as per the outlet.
“While we acknowledge your right to free expression, your decision to lead a protest from the stage, disrupting an important institute ceremony, was a violation of MIT’s time, place and manner rules for campus expression,” she added.
According to Wbur.com, MIT’s leadership released a statement saying they fully support the disciplinary action taken against Megha.
The statement read, “MIT supports free expression but stands by its decision, which was in response to the individual deliberately and repeatedly misleading Commencement organisers and leading a protest from the stage, disrupting an important Institute ceremony.”
An MIT spokesperson also mentioned that the speech Megha actually delivered was different from the version she had submitted to university officials before the event.
A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on what’s creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture.
A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on what’s creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture.
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Delhi, India, India
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