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MIT banned its 2025 class president, Megha Vemuri, from the graduation ceremony for delivering an unscheduled, pro-Palestinian speech criticizing the university's ties to Israel during the ongoing conflict. Vemuri's speech, which included a call for MIT to sever ties with Israel, was met with applause from classmates. MIT stated that Vemuri misled organizers and disrupted the ceremony, while supporting free expression. This follows a similar incident at NYU, where a student's diploma was withheld for a similar unsanctioned speech.

Prepared by Emily Rhodes and reviewed by editorial team.