Tattoos: the refuted and praised art form

Tea’ Claus
Staff Writer

Tattoos are cross-cultural, versatile and heavily present in the daily lives of Americans.

Construction and maintenance student Christopher Shea believes tattoos are a form of self expression.

“[Tattoos] help show who you are, and share that with the world,” said Shea.

Surgical technology student Oniel Barrett believes subtly is key with tattoos.

“I think [tattoos] are okay if you have less on your body, and they’re not spread all over,” said Barrett. “For me, I think it looks nasty,” he said.

Physical education student Michael Jones likes of tattoos, and he wants to get more done in the future.

Business administration student Maddie Gibbons believes people should be able to do whatever they choose to do on their own bodies.

“Honestly, I think that it’s your body, and you should be able to do whatever you want with it,” said Gibbons. “I personally don’t really care if people have tattoos,” she said.

“Job opportunities are changing for people and employers are able to hire you based on qualifications, and not just on your appearance,” said Piazza.

Parents are also becoming more open to tattoos, and the idea of their children getting them.

Physical education student Solomon Reed said his parents were pretty open and in agreement with his tattoos.

“My father has tattoos, so I use that as my alibi. He expresses himself with his ink, so I do the same with mine.

And my mom has one tattoo, but she doesn’t want me to get too many. She does like the tattoos I have now,” said Reed.
Forensic science student Marisa Heiserman said her parents are not as lenient as others.
“My parents aren’t really very fond of [tattoos],” said Heiserman. “They don’t have any, and they kind of think that it’s dangerous,” she said.
Some students opinions are shaped largely based on their parents views, while others form their opinions on their own.
“Growing up, my parents would say, ‘Hey, you know, we don’t want you getting a tattoo so you shouldn’t get one.’

Obviously, you want to rebel against that, and go get one,” said construction technology student Greg Moon.

Students shared their parents reactions when they first saw their own tattoos. Shea said that his parents liked the tattoo that he had done. “They liked it, and they thought it was really cool,” said Shea.

Some students who don’t have tattoos do not plan on getting them in the future, or aren’t sure if they want any. “I personally won’t be getting any tattoos,” Barrett said.

Students with tattoos sometimes get them done to apply a meaning to them. Lopez said she had her tattoo of a purple flower done because of a condition she had.

“The purple in it is the Lupus colors, because I have Lupus,” said Mariah Lopez, a Surgical Technology major.

“My left shoulder is a memorial to my grandmother who passed away in 2005, and the one on my chest is overcome, so I overcome adversity and negativity,” said Clark.

“I have lavender on my chest, which is representative of peace and calm, and with crippling anxiety, I need all the calm I can get,” said Piazza.