Actions Meet Consequence: MIT Class President Banned from Commencement After Pro-Hamas Speech

The plague of antisemitism that has permeated universities across the nation reared its ugly head again this week at the OneMIT Commencement ceremony on Thursday. From undergraduates to PhD candidates, the OneMIT commencement is an event for all of MIT's graduating students and their families. Class president Megha Vemuri was scheduled to lead the student body in a traditional ceremony known as 'Turning the Brass Rat,' an MIT tradition that dates back to the 1920s. The ceremony in which students turn their class rings on their hands to symbolize the transition from student to graduate lightheartedly refers to an early design of the class ring embossed with a beaver (the school mascot) that more closely resembled a rat. Students turn the rings and sing the school song to celebrate the hard work and dedication that has led them to graduate from one of the most prestigious schools in the country.

There was nothing lighthearted when Vemuri took to the podium as she unleashed a tirade of antisemitic comments, attempting to turn a commencement ceremony into a free Palestine protest, and effectively ruining the event.

Here are her comments.

MIT’s class president, Megha Vemuri, spent her graduation speech bashing Israel.

Then President Sally Kornbluth spoke immediately after and oh boy was that awkward. pic.twitter.com/PjsBNEQxmy
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) May 29, 2025

Other antisemite activists in the crowd can be heard cheering while others loudly booed. Jewish students could be seen walking out. The celebratory atmosphere of the event had been replaced with an awkward tension. MIT's president Sally Kornbluth came to the podium and tried to put the event back on track, but it was too late. The damage had been done.

BREAKING: After the MIT graduation speaker used her entire speech to bash Israel, President Kornbluth took the stage—not to apologize, but to continue appeasing the campus extremists.

Parents flew in from around the world, and she couldn’t even offer a basic apology. pic.twitter.com/u9L8jG4Cjt
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) May 30, 2025

Kornbluth and MIT would later claim to have been duped by their Jew-hating class president. Speakers at such events are required to submit a draft of their speech before the event. The draft Vemuri turned in was completely different from the speech she gave at the event.

As a result of her actions, the university banned Vemuri, a neuroscience major, from taking part in the undergraduate commencement ceremony on Friday.

"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," said university spokesperson Kimberly Allen. "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."

The comments fall short of anything that could be construed as an apology to Jewish students, and there was no indication that Vemuri would face any additional disciplinary actions from MIT. They seem more interested in making the embarrassing incident go away than trying to address the underlying issue of antisemitism on their campus.

Vemuri, like all leftist hacks, responded by claiming victimhood, calling the university action against her, overreach.

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 rest of the post:

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 the OneMIT commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 29, 2025, which deviated from the speech she had submitted in advance to university officials. MIT Chancellor Melissa Nobles informed Vemuri via email that she and her family were barred from campus for most of Friday, citing that Vemuri "deliberately and repeatedly misled organizers" and violated MIT’s rules by leading a "protest from the stage," disrupting the ceremony. Vemuri disputed the characterization of her speech as a protest and called the ban an "overreach.”

MIT's response has brought little consolation to Jewish students who were forced to endure Vemuri's hateful rhetoric.

I was there today. Instead of celebrating my PhD, I had to explain to my 5 year olds why people hate us for no reason
— Guy Zyskind enc/acc (@GuyZys) May 30, 2025

Today should have been a happy day.

I finally got my PhD from @MIT, with my 5-year-old twins, my 2-year-old and my parents (children of Holocaust survivors) traveling halfway around the world just to be there.

Instead, MIT’s student commencement speaker decided it was… https://t.co/TLVDdqpF7i pic.twitter.com/qmtVs8IOlX
— Guy Zyskind enc/acc (@GuyZys) May 30, 2025

The rest of the post:

Instead, MIT’s student commencement speaker decided it was appropriate to use the moment for hate-filled rhetoric against Israelis and Jews. And it wasn’t just one person; too many in the crowd erupted with cheers and anger. My kids might not have understood every word, but they felt the fear and hostility, and kept asking questions from that point on. It was distressing for them, upsetting for us, and deeply distasteful for everyone else who came to celebrate.
How could @MIT let this happen and ruin a special day for hundreds of Jewish graduates and thousands of their family members?
This is even more heartbreaking considering that just last week, a beautiful Jewish American couple was murdered in DC. Shame on MIT for allowing hate and division to overshadow a day meant for celebration and unity.

Backlash from the incident extended beyond MIT students.

So this woman hijacks the MIT graduation to make the whole thing about her personal beliefs about Israel, any insult to the Jewish students or others in attendance be damned. Selfish, self-aggrandizing, disrespectful & RUDE. https://t.co/9QfQyXdLqp
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) May 30, 2025

TERROR: MIT’s 2025 commencement featured Class President Megha Vemuri supporting the Palestinian terrorists holding Israelis hostage in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/kywhoczgEc
— @amuse (@amuse) May 30, 2025

Megha Vemuri is a virulent anti semite.
She has sacrificed her future for a "cause" she knows nothing about.
Jew hatred is a mental illness.
I hope she urgently gets the care she requires.
Don't hire her.
Don't date her.
You have been warned.
👿☠️👽
— Sarina 🇺🇸 🇮🇱 (@SarinaGliksman) May 31, 2025

Hate toward Jews has been rampant and unchecked on college campuses for far too long. We're not sure how much of her future Vemuri has sacrificed, and can only hope that being banned from her undergrad ceremony is the beginning of the consequences she faces for her openly hateful actions.

It's high time that antisemitism in academia is brought to an end. Actions must be met with consequences for both students and the universities that coddle them.