Indian-origin PhD student at MIT suspended over pro-Palestinian activism, appeals university's decision

NEW YORK: An Indian-origin student pursuing PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been suspended until January 2026 following his pro-Palestinian activism and is currently appealing the university's decision. In a call to action, the organisation is demanding that the MIT administration reverse Prahlad's suspension before Wednesday and said over 100 people have asked the city of Cambridge's councillors "to intervene on MIT's suppression of pro-Palestinian student activism." The WBUR report further said that according to an email sent by MIT Dean of Student Life David Warren Randall to the editors of the magazine, the 'On Pacifism' article featured imagery and language that "could be interpreted as a call for more violent or destructive forms of protest at MIT." "Randall's email also cited the inclusion of several images in the article, including one that incorporates the logo of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which has been designated by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation," the WBUR report said. In an email to Iyengar, "the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards cited 'a series of continuing behaviours' that included his essay, a protest held outside a campus lab and an email sent to grad students and postdoctoral researchers who work in the lab," the WBUR report said.