Indian-American MIT student delivers pro-Palestine speech at graduation
Megha Vemuri (image source: LinkedIn)Indian-American Megha Vemuri, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) class president stirred a politically charged environment at the graduation ceremony on Thursday.“MIT wants free Palestine,” Vemuri said from the stage and the crowd waved Palestinian flags in solidarity.Her speech comes amid the ongoing unrest in the US over the war in Gaza and university connections to defence and research institutions.She went on to say that It is no secret that at this time, academic institutions across the country are ‘shrouded in a dark cloud of uncertainty’. She also remarked that ‘there is a lot of fear in many of our hearts’.Vemuri noted that last spring MIT's undergraduate body and graduate student union voted ‘overwhelmingly’ to cut ties with the “genocidal Israeli military”.She criticised MIT officials who opposed pro-Palestine protests of students.Vemuri concluded by saying, “We carry with us the obligation to do everything we can to stop it.”Immediately after her opening speech, President Sally Kornbluth took the stage and said, “We value freedom of expression at MIT, but today’s about graduates”.Also read:Indian-origin student ‘self-deports’ from US after visa revoked over Palestine protests
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| Megha Vemuri (image source: LinkedIn) |
Indian-American Megha Vemuri, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) class president stirred a politically charged environment at the graduation ceremony on Thursday.
“MIT wants free Palestine,” Vemuri said from the stage and the crowd waved Palestinian flags in solidarity.
Her speech comes amid the ongoing unrest in the US over the war in Gaza and university connections to defence and research institutions.
She went on to say that It is no secret that at this time, academic institutions across the country are ‘shrouded in a dark cloud of uncertainty’. She also remarked that ‘there is a lot of fear in many of our hearts’.
Vemuri noted that last spring MIT's undergraduate body and graduate student union voted ‘overwhelmingly’ to cut ties with the “genocidal Israeli military”.
She criticised MIT officials who opposed pro-Palestine protests of students.
Vemuri concluded by saying, “We carry with us the obligation to do everything we can to stop it.”
Immediately after her opening speech, President Sally Kornbluth took the stage and said, “We value freedom of expression at MIT, but today’s about graduates”.
Also read:
Indian-origin student ‘self-deports’ from US after visa revoked over Palestine protests
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