Red Masacupan is currently the associate editor of Himati, UP Mindanao’s official student publication, where they previously served as the Editor-in-Chief from 2019 to 2021. As a campus journalist, Red envisions a student regent that is not detached from their community but instead gives a platform for their stories and fight for their calls.
In Masacupan’s vision, they emphasized the need to collectively participate in amplifying the voices of the masses, and to recognize the role of students especially under the Marcos-Duterte regime. As the 40th SR Nominee, they envision this office to be militant and progressive that is with the UP community at large.
Masacupan highlighted the need to expand the scope of free, quality, and accessible education, as well as strengthening campaigns for student rights and welfare. This includes campaigning for more scholarship and assistance programs especially for oft-disregarded courses, condemning anti-democratic decisions by the UP administration that set aside the students’ best interests, and rejecting commercialization at the expense of the studentry.
As the nominee for UP Mindanao, she also emphasized the need to defend human rights especially against the campus militarization, citing her unit’s experience with Regional Community Defense Group XI which occupies university land. They propose working closely with each UP unit’s legal offices as well as agencies such as the Commission on Human Rights and Karapatan. They also pointed out the need expose the state’s use of intelligence and surveillance networks against students, as well as their use of ROTC to get into schools.
They say that amidst Marcos’s “de facto Martial Law,” it is necessary to defend not only students but also other vulnerable groups. This means joining campaigns to defend indigenous land, support organizations such as the Save Our Schools Network, and reject imperialist attacks that endanger the lives of Filipinos.
Lastly, Masacupan highlighted the call to defend press freedom, and plans to amplify it through the help of alliances such as UP Solidaridad and the College Editors Guild of the Philippines. She also wants to join the fight against red-tagging and the use of trumped-up charges, especially against journalists like UP Vista’s former editor Frenchie Mae Cumpio.
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