CAIR Condemns MIT for banning Class President from Graduation Ceremony over Anti-Genocide speech
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nationās largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, and its Massachusetts chapter (CAIR-MA) today condemned the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for reportedly banning MIT class of 2025 president Megha Vemuri from attending her undergraduate graduation ceremonies because she delivered an anti-genocide speech critical of MITās collaboration with the Israeli military a day earlier.
SEE:Ā Students disrupt MIT chancellor at graduation after class president banned for pro-Palestine speech
Vemuri was told that she and her family were barred from the campus on Friday, after her speech Thursday during the 2025 OneMIT Commencement Ceremony in which she said: āWe are watching Israel try to wipe Palestine off the face of the Earth, and itās a shame that MIT is a part of it.ā
In a statement,Ā CAIR-MA Executive Director Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, Esq.Ā said:
āWe condemn MIT for reportedly banning class president Megha Vemuri from walking alongside her classmates because she dared to deliver a powerful speech criticizing the universityās complicity in war crimes perpetrated by the Israeli government.
āMIT officials should be ashamed of themselves for both helping enable the Israeli governmentās genocide and for silencing their own students who speak up against those crimes against humanity.Ā
āMIT must respect academic freedom and respect the voices of its students, not punish and intimidate those who speak out against genocide and in support of Palestinian humanity.ā
CAIR said it stands in solidarity with the student community and all academic institutions resisting efforts to politicize and control free speech or university governance.Ā
CAIRās mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā
You can help contribute to CAIRās work of defending civil rights and empowering American Muslims across the country by making a one-time contribution or becoming a monthly donor. Supporters like you make CAIRās advocacy work possible and defeating Islamophobia an achievable goal. Click here to donate to CAIR.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā
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