In 1925, Mella was expelled from the University after he and fellow students forcibly took over the university and made demands including modernizing text books and free education for all. After being accused of a bomb plot, Mella was expelled from the University for this “radical”, political involvement. Once freed from jail, Mella fled to Mexico, where he was assassinated under suspicious circumstances just a few years later, in 1929, at just 26 years old.