In a now-famous speech, Megha Vemuri, the president of the Class of 2025, touches on this significant burden when she addresses her fellow graduates about the “privilege of access…to a place like this (MIT)” and the “immeasurable responsibility” they take with them into the world.
At the commencement ceremony for the Class of 2025 on Thursday, yet another group of MIT students flipped the brass rat, ready to embark on the next chapter of their lives, equipped with knowledge and a deep sense of their shared history, which connects them as a community.
Like countless students across the United States, those at the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) take great pride in upholding the cherished American tradition of the class ring.
Each year, these signet-style rings are redesigned, showcasing the school’s emblem: at MIT, it’s a beaver, affectionately known as “the brass rat,” which is engraved on the flat top.
One side of the bezel features a depiction of the Boston skyline, while the other side presents a view of the Cambridge skyline, specifically highlighting the university campus.
Before graduation, MIT students wear their rings with the beaver and the Boston side facing them. During the commencement ceremony, graduates are invited to “flip the brass rat,” turning the beaver outward, symbolizing their transition into the broader world.
Now, the campus skyline faces the graduates, serving as a reminder of the legacy and responsibilities they carry forward.
If we set aside the references to the ongoing destruction of Gaza, the suffering of the Palestinians, and the silence or complicity of institutions like the one she is graduating from, Vemuri’s speech is quite similar to those given at commencement ceremonies at other schools, both in the US and around the globe, throughout various times.
Throughout their four years of undergraduate studies, MIT students, like their peers everywhere, have been learning about their responsibilities in the world outside the campus. Now, as Vemuri points out, it’s time for them to shoulder that responsibility.
The backlash following Vemuri’s speech has been intense, with MIT preventing her from attending her graduation ceremony the very next day. Commentators and pundits have criticized her for allegedly trying to “hijack” the event to promote her “personal beliefs.”
In her speech, a student exercised her right to free speech without inciting violence or hatred against any community, simply highlighting a significant injustice in the world where she and her fellow students are expected to fulfill their roles.
That was her only intention. Vemuri stated, “As scientists, engineers, academics, and leaders, we have a commitment to support life.” The university’s response, along with the numerous social media condemnations of her words, raises an important question.
Are MIT students expected to show this commitment only to certain lives? If so, who gets left out of this responsibility that Vemuri and her peers are stepping into?
It’s clear that Vemuri recognizes the double standards that underpin such a perspective when she remarks, “While we graduate and move on with our lives, there are no universities left in Gaza.”
Vemuri isn’t alone in her broader sense of compassion, which seems to be discouraged among students, and she’s certainly not the first to face repercussions for it. In today’s America, foreign students have already been warned.
Their visas and futures are at risk for even the slightest deviation from the rigid expectations set by those in power. While Vemuri doesn’t have to worry about a visa as an American citizen, she may still have valid concerns about her future.
The open support for the Palestinian cause has reportedly already resulted in several job losses, including at major companies like Microsoft and Google.
In today’s America, where democratic values are being challenged by an administration that tolerates no opposition, it’s a frightening time to be any kind of minority—not just those on a visa.
But that’s what’s truly impressive about Vemuri: she spoke her mind right when she lost the safety net that being a student provided.
Politically engaged students often face condescension, being told they don’t understand how the real world operates. Yet Vemuri seems more than ready to tackle it, with or without the brass rat.
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