Whatcha gon’ do with all that junk?
Mackenzie Clark, features editor: Hide it where the munchkins won’t find it & destroy it.
Morgan Daigneault, assistant designer: Put it in my trunk.
Lauren Minick, production designer: Sell it on Amazon.
Hannah Hunsinger, photo editor: Throw it over the fence into my crazy neighbor’s yard.
Ben Markley, news editor: Recycle.
Dillan Straight, sports editor: Make my way into a Nelly video. Is that answer too dated?
Tasha Cook, managing editor: Hide it, then bring it out when no one’s looking. Huzzah!
What’re your favorite or weirdest Christmas traditions?
Mackenzie Clark: Fondue for dinner…lethally undercooked steak is freaking awesome.
Morgan Daigneault: Conceiving magical babies.
Lauren Minick: Hiding the German Pickle—whoever finds it first gets an extra present.
Hannah Hunsinger: My extended family always gets together and goes “fishing” for presents behind a curtain. We have to answer questions and tell stories.
Ben Markley: My siblings and I put on a modest Christmas show for my parents every year. It’s a great excuse to sing loud and dance wacky with the people I’ve grown up with.
Dillan Straight: Not really a said tradition, but there hasn’t been a Straight family Christmas in years where there wasn’t at least been two solid fights. Not personal attacks, but good fun. One year I had asked all year for an N64. When Christmas came I noticed my sister getting “GoldenEye,” “Mario Kart,” and “Banjo Kazooie.” I was livid, thinking my sister was getting the N64 and I was getting stiffed with socks and a sweet KC Chiefs Starter Jacket. By the time she unwrapped an N64 with her name on it, I had lost control as anything as any 8-year-old. Throwing off some mean fake swear words along the way, my dad loses it with laughter and reveals that he had switched all the tags while we were eating breakfast. Still to this day signs all gifts as, “Love, butt-hat.”
Tasha Cook: Decorate all the things!
What’s yer favorite band?
Mackenzie Clark: Sublime
Morgan Daigneault: Foreigner
Lauren Minick: Five for Fighting
Hannah Hunsinger: Adele
Ben Markley: Queen
Dillan Straight: Beastie Boys
Tasha Cook: 30 Seconds to Mars
How about yer favorite TV show?
Mackenzie Clark: House
Morgan Daigneault: Between Two Ferns
Lauren Minick: The Office
Hannah Hunsinger: Leverage
Ben Markley: Boy Meets World, hands down
Dillan Straight: The League
Who would you call a personal inspiration and why?
Mackenzie Clark: Megyn Kelly on Fox News. She’s gorgeous, she’s an excellent journalist, and she doesn’t let anyone skirt the questions. Nothing gets past her.
Morgan Daigneault: Nicolas Cage, because the subliminal messages he sent to me via National Treasure: Book of Secrets saved my life. I am forever in his debt.
Lauren Minick: My mom is a personal inspiration to me because her inner strength is contagious. No matter what happens in life my mom is a mom first and foremost. She is fantastically perfect in my eyes.
Hannah Hunsinger: My best friend Allison, who I love taking pictures of, but that requires coming up with good ideas.
Ben Markley: C.S. Lewis. Nobody writes like him, nobody thinks like him, and I want to be like that.
Dillan Straight: Tom Osbourn—that man solely owned college football in the 40s.
Tasha Cook: My friends. Some of them, and you know who you are, get me through every day. Love you guys.
Compiled by Rachel Kimbrough.