The Tack, 1895-2012, May 17, 2017

The bulk of the collection is comprised of The Tack. In its earliest issues, in addition to news articles, the paper ran lengthy articles of a more scholarly or historical nature, along with poetry, lyrics, whimsical columns, and social notes. In the 1920s The Tack featured stories of the formation of a campus band, many chapel speakers, sports rivalries, theatrical performances, and lectures. The sororities, fraternities, and other campus groups reported regular activity. Several issues at the end of 1929 and the beginning of 1930 were largely devoted to the threats of BV's existence. By the early 1930s, however, The Tack mentioned that the college was offering 70 programs and enrollment figures were climbing.

The Tack of the 1940s features news and photographs of servicemen enlisted in the various military branches during the Second World War. Following the war, the influx of returning males made for a ratio of three men to every one woman, and the college yearbook resumed publication.

Of course, The Tack prominently covered the burning of Old Main in 1956, as well as the building of Dixon-Eilers classroom and administration building in 1958. It also reported on plans for a new chapel. The newspaper followed the building projects of a new science center, fieldhouse, and library in the mid- to late-1960s.

By the mid-1970s articles began to appear on smoking and women's issues; the radio station, KBVC, began broadcasting, and at the close of the decade the paper reported on inflation and tuition hikes. Some highlighted stories from the 1980s include the large gift that Harold Walter Siebens made to the college, students' concerns about financial aid and tuition hikes, along with explorations of alcohol and drug use, sexuality, and sexual health. The Tack also noted BV's high enrollment and devoted space to nuclear issues, AIDS, and apartheid.

The Tack continued discussion of sexuality and sexual issues in the 1990s, but it also covered the Middle East and homelessness. When Buena Vista College became Buena Vista University in 1995, The Tack covered the change, along with technology's increasing role in education. In the twenty-first century, The Tack reported on the 9/11 terrorist attacks and looked back at historical roots and events in BV's life. Politics, sex and sexual issues continued to be topics of interest. In 2012 the paper announced that it was suspending its print publication and going to online editions only.