MIT wants a free Palestine: MIT class president condemns Israel in bold address
Cambridge, Massachusetts: At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s 2025 commencement ceremony, Indian-American student and class president Megha Vemuri made international headlines with a powerful, politically charged address condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza and criticizing MIT’s institutional ties to the Israeli military.
Wearing a red keffiyeh, a symbol of solidarity with Palestine, Vemuri delivered her speech before thousands of graduates, faculty, and guests, declaring, “You showed the world that MIT wants a free Palestine.”
Her remarks came amidst widespread campus protests across the United States over the Gaza conflict and American universities’ connections to military and defense interests involved in the war.
“Academic institutions across the country are shrouded in a dark cloud of uncertainty,” Vemuri stated, acknowledging the fear and pressure faced by student activists. She openly accused MIT of complicity: “The Israeli occupation forces are the only foreign military that MIT has research ties with… our school is aiding and abetting genocide.”
Vemuri highlighted recent student-led votes by both undergraduate and graduate bodies at MIT urging the administration to sever ties with Israel’s military. “You faced threats, intimidation, and suppression—especially from your own university officials—but you prevailed,” she told her peers.
As she concluded, Vemuri urged her fellow graduates to turn their class rings outward—a traditional MIT gesture symbolizing readiness to face the world. This time, it carried political weight.
“We carry with us the obligation to do everything we can to stop it. MIT is directly complicit in the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people,” she said, ending her speech with a call for accountability and action.
Vemuri pointed to the total destruction of universities in Gaza as evidence of a systematic erasure: “There are no universities left in Gaza. We are watching Israel try to wipe Palestine off the face of the earth, and it is a shame that MIT is a part of it.”
Born and raised in Alpharetta, Georgia, Megha Vemuri has played a prominent role in MIT’s student life. In addition to serving as class president, she was involved in the class council and numerous research initiatives. Vemuri worked as a research assistant at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research and previously interned at the UCT Neuroscience Institute in South Africa.
She also participated in community-oriented educational projects, including creating a neuroscience curriculum for high school students in Jordan. At MIT, she taught artificial intelligence courses and was a member of "Written Revolution," a student group promoting socially conscious ideas.
A National Merit Scholar in 2021, Vemuri has also co-authored two academic articles on avian social behavior.
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Rupee falls 9 paise to all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said rupee is trading with a negative bias as investors are in wait and watch mode and awaiting cues from the India-US trade deal front.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then fell further to an all-time intraday low of 90.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.35.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.52 per cent at USD 61.44 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 298.86 points lower at 84,968.80, while the Nifty was down 121.40 points at 25,925.55.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue to be in selling mode in equity and debt while RBI has been selling dollars to fund their long positions," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
