In 1899, a couple of passionate Nevada students created the Artemisia yearbook that would develop into more than one hundred years of documenting campus history. Through two world wars, 108 Associated Students of the University of Nevada (ASUN) presidents and a revolution in journalism, the Artemisia carried on, until a lack of support and interest for student publications hit from the global recession in 2008.
In 2023, another couple of passionate Nevada students set out to revive this age-old tradition. Brayden Taeubel ’24 and I discovered the recently digitized versions of the publication and spent countless hours getting lost in more than a century of campus history. The accurate documentation of campus successes, defeats, advancements and shared experiences distracted us from the class assignments we probably should have been doing.
For Christmas, Brayden gifted me the 1959 copy of the Artemisia, which was especially meaningful. That was the year that my idol, the future governor and senator Richard Bryan, was ASUN president. We were compelled to revive the publication after reading each volume’s editor share an optimistic hope for the future of the book. In reading every publication cover to cover, we became quite familiar with campus history. What was more rewarding, perhaps, was being able to find photos of parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents and to then show them to current Nevada student family members. Brayden and I became inspired to revive this tradition to ensure that an accurate representation of the student experience was captured. We wanted to record the journey it takes to pursue a student’s passion, just as every generation of University graduates has done to create our Nevada today.
In less than a month, we became obsessed with this project and spent every day and night learning how to make a book, making the book and eventually publishing it. If you asked us a year ago, we would tell you about the record snowstorms, a car crash, a black eye, learning Adobe software and many other challenges that almost beat us. But the challenges meant nothing after hearing the excitement from Nevada alumni who heard about this project. What kept us going was knowing that most Nevada graduates still have their beloved Artemisia yearbooks.
Every Artemisia is unique and has its own style. Seeing the hard copies of the publication is an experience that no level of technology could capture. Each decade seems to have a theme. The first decades of the publication are fragile but robust with content. My favorite components from the 1899-1919 years are the hand-drawn images paralleled with the photos of unsmiling students in their fashions of the day. Many of the yearbooks end with joshes, or funny jokes and comics about their classmates, which numbered about one hundred.
Our favorite Artemisia publications are from the 1920s and are full of poetry, hand-drawn art, Swifty fonts and page borders. Our 2023 version was largely inspired by this era and included the same chapter titles as former years, symbolizing our advancements that complement our traditions.
The 1930s and 1940s were clearly focused on the military, with entire sections of the Artemisia dedicated to it. The Military Ball, Military Science, Military Department, etc. are very prominent in these sections. Also prevalent are patriotic themes and the uprising of women in leadership in all areas on campus — as students, faculty members and administrators.
It is so fun to look at young Nevada students who turned into incredible figures: governors, doctors, actors, athletes — and even presidents of our very own University! Our favorite Artemisia is the 1986 version because it has both the greatest cover in celebrating Morrill Hall’s one hundredth birthday and many pictures of future University president Brian Sandoval in his senior year. Throughout all the changing decades of the Artemisia, the pride for our land-grant University has always remained the same.
Dionne Stanfill ’23 (right) served as ASUN President, just like her idol, Senator Richard Bryan ’59 (center). She and fellow Artemisia-lover Brayden Taeubel ’24 (left) are both attending law school. Photos courtesy Dionne Stanfill '23
The revival edition of the Artemisia captures the history that was made in our year: the acquisition of University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe, the renaming of University Way, the new monument on south campus, the Mackay Bottle Sacrifice, the remodel of Mackay Stadium and other historic moments.
Pictures of and information about our institution can be easily found online or on social media today; however, this can neither relate nor complete the story of this publication. The history documented in the Artemisia complements the advancements made on our campus. We have transformed from a cow college in an untraditional setting for higher education into the greatest institution in the world.
The 2023 Artemisia revives tradition and makes history. The hope is that the Artemisia is supported in future years to remember and appreciate the successes, defeats and ambitions of our beloved University of Nevada, Reno.
From “University of Nevada, 1874-2024: 150 Years of Inspiring Excellence” by John Trent, published by the University of Nevada Press (2024). Lightly edited for Nevada Silver & Blue style.
