MIT student Megha Vemuri torches Israel ties in viral grad speech: 'Won't tolerate genocide...'

Indian-American student Megha Vemuri was barred from attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) commencement ceremony on Friday after a speech in support of Palestine was delivered from the stage during an earlier event. Vemuri, who was scheduled to serve as the marshal for the graduation, was informed of the decision by MIT Chancellor Melissa Nobles on the morning of the ceremony, according to a report by the Boston Globe. “Participation in Commencement activities is a privilege,” Nobles wrote in an email to Vemuri. “You deliberately and repeatedly misled Commencement organisers. 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.” The Boston Globe reported that Vemuri and her family were not allowed on campus for most of the day. Vemuri responded to the email, stating that her speech was indeed a protest but described the response by MIT as “an overreach.”