“I like being on top of people”

With the new academic year fast approaching, the TR Daily Board thought it was high time you got to know the stories behind the red lipstick. In this four part series we will introduce you to each member of the Daily Board with one-on-one interviews, and a group interview with our Section Editors.

In this installment we’ll introduce you to this year’s Managing Editor: Yonna Kuipers. Yonna will be in charge of finance, is the right hand of Editor-in-chief Eden, and oversees all practical aspects of a TR publication. She will also function as this year’s Out & About Section Editor! If you want to know how she manages all this and what goals she will set for this year, or if you just would like to get to know her: keep reading!

What is your full name and age?

My full name is Dyonna Annelore Kuipers, but no one should get to know that, and I am currently 21.

Are you a cat or a dog person?

Cat!

Why did you join Tabula Rasa?

It looked fun, and Eden was like “you should join us” and I was like “why not”. [Eden takes full responsibility, red.] And then a spot opened up, and I thought “you know what, I can do that!”.

If you had to pick between BuzzFeed and the Guardian, which one would it be?

BuzzFeed, because it has videos, it has shits and giggles, but it also has serious news, so that is something for me.

What kind of media outlet do you appreciate most and why?

Is YouTube a media outlet? In that case, I appreciate YouTube most because it takes such creativity and you have to be so innovative and relevant to be successful on YouTube. There is so much work and talent that goes into that, and I appreciate that. So even though I’m not active on it the way I am active on Instagram and Twitter, it is my favorite. I appreciate what others do more than what I can put into it.

What do you consider your biggest strength concerning Tabula Rasa?

[Awkward silence followed by some awkward laughter]. I don’t know, I consider myself creative, but I am also always on top of people – I don’t mind double texting you, I will text you until you respond. I don’t care if you wake up from your midday nap, you will receive 27 texts, with several question marks.

And what is your weakness?

This is such a stupid weakness, but when I write I want it to be perfect immediately, so if I write a sentence I won’t stop until it is perfect – which can take me hours. This is horrible for writing papers and basically everything else in life. So it can take me a while to finish the final product. There are no drafts!

What Mario Character are you and why?

I think I’m Toad, because I used to play Mario Kart and would always pick Toad because I liked his car the best. And he is cute.

What are your ideas and views for Tabula Rasa?

I want people to go there just like they go to BuzzFeed. For fun stuff, and relevant articles. Something [the UCR community] can all be proud of.

What is your spirit animal and why?

First of all, the term spirit animal is problematic af, because it is cultural appropriation, so considering that I don’t have a spirit animal.

Okay, I didn’t think about it like that, I just googled “interview questions”.

In that case I relate most, character-wise, to cats because they are assholes, and I’m an asshole, they love sleeping, I love sleeping and they do whatever they want, so how cool is that.

They also love being on top of people as well.

Yeah, and I like to be on top of people just like cats like to be on top of people.

That’s just great. Thank you Yonna.

Renske Wienen, class of 2018, is a chemistry and cognitive science major from Rotterdam, the Netherlands.