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On May 7, the University of Michigan’s Central Student Government announced the opening of their Conflict-Affected and Refugee Education Scholarship. The scholarship application is open to both undergraduate and graduate students until July 19. Selected applicants will receive up to $5,000 based on financial need granted in the fall 2025 semester.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Amr Brown, Public Policy rising junior and CARES Task Force chair, said the scholarship aims to support both students with refugee status and those from a region affected by humanitarian crises.
“(CARES) is a fund that serves to uplift students from conflict-affected zones, whether it be a war-torn country or region, hunger, famine or any other circumstances that might affect their ability to pursue an education, and also refugee students — so students who have refugee status and who are currently studying in the United States,” Brown said.
Brown said while the current maximum award amount of $5,000 is a good start, the CARES Task Force also hopes to increase award amounts in future years.
“We want to increase the aid amounts,” Brown said. “While any help is perfect and the financial situations of our applicants can vary greatly, we want to award more … This year, we laid the groundwork with $5,000 per scholarship as a start. A year from now, that number could be $10,000. That number, if we get a very big donation, could (then) be $15,000.”
Another goal the CARES Task Force has for the scholarship is to make it permanently endowed, which would enable CSG to continue providing it indefinitely. Brown said the scholarship has already received attention from governmental organizations such as the state of Michigan’s Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs.
“The purpose of the entirety of next year is to receive donor contributions,” Brown said. “We have conversations with donors already scheduled for the fall. It’s attracted the attention of the state government and of the Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs. They are very interested in supporting this effort and supporting it financially when their funding application comes around next year.”
The CARES scholarship was introduced in the wake of an increased crackdown on immigration by President Donald Trump’s administration, a development the CARES task force has taken into consideration. In an interview with The Daily, Michelle Bellino, associate professor of education and member of the CARES Evaluation Board, said she believed the scholarship was important as a symbol of inclusion and opposition to intolerance.
“Despite what’s happening (with the federal government), this would be symbolically and materially meaningful for these individuals, and I continue to really believe that,” Bellino said. “I think it’s a very important way of our student community saying to students who have been affected by conflict and displacement, ‘We see you. We know you’re part of the community and you do belong here.’”
Bellino also said the shifts in immigration policy will require CARES to take additional steps to protect student information.
“I think we need to take additional precautions about whether and how we publicize students who are the awardees, and especially how we protect their data,” Bellino said. “Even in how we talk about the program, I think we have to be thoughtful about that. But I continue to think it’s really meaningful.”
The scholarship was also created as the University made changes to its Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities and suspended Students Allied for Freedom and Equality. Brown said these actions constitute student suppression and hopes CARES will help CSG properly support and stand up for students.
“A lot of students on campus feel that CSG does not represent their best interests, which I think is fair given events over the past year,” Brown said. “But I also think that this scholarship, funded by CSG, created within CSG by members of CSG, is a first step towards righting so many wrongs that CSG has done as an institution for students on campus, and also to fight University suppression, because one united student government is saying that this is something we want to prioritize.”
In an interview with The Daily, Rackham student Mark Farag, former CARES vice chair, said his experience as an international student exemplifies the difficulties the scholarship attempts to mitigate.
“I’m supporting myself, I’m working full time during my school — and school is really hard, but I’m still doing both of them at the same time,” Farag said. “We’re just trying any way to remove this type of pressure (with the) scholarship. There’s a lot of people where every single minute in school is better for them because if they don’t have a class, they’re going to be working. If they have any empty time in their day, they will go and apply for another job, because you need money to continue normal living.”
Summer News Editor Glenn Hedin can be reached at heglenn@umich.edu.
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