Last week, as I sat in my early morning geography lecture, wondering how much coffee it would take to keep me awake through a discussion about soil gradients, I noticed this little freshman next to me. She was fervently taking notes, and the words ‘bright, shining future’ were gleaming above her head. She probably didn’t even need coffee to engage in a stimulating discussion about soil gradients. You know the type. And then I saw it: the massive tattoo on her leg of something that looked like a dragon, a scorpion, some Chinese lettering, and a skull and crossbones. I was definitely surprised.

The thing is, I probably shouldn’t have been that surprised. In recent years, tattoos and body piercings have become much more common and a lot more popular, especially among college students. One of the closest businesses to campus is Halo Tattoo, where $10 off discounts are included in the coupon booklets we receive in the Schine Student Center as we purchase overpriced textbooks. (Note the irony.)

According to various studies across college campuses, many students view their bodies as canvases, fit for decoration by anything that looks ‘cool.’ No notable correlation has been found between students’ grades and their piercings and tattoos, or lack thereof. In other words, it’s not just the bad kids who have tattoos or piercings anymore, nor the stoners who never go to class. Sometimes, even professors have them. I guess Bob Dylan was really onto something when he said, ‘The times, they are a-changin’.’

It seems to me what’s more notably changed is not really the number of people who get tattoos, but the meanings behind them.

Freshman year, an acquaintance of mine got a rather discreet piercing on Valentine’s Day. She called it her own personal ‘#$%@ you!’ to the holiday.

Sophomore year, I saw a drunk, half-naked frat boy, with a huge tattoo of a cross on his chest, pour alcohol all over himself and ask the crowd if anyone was interested in licking it off. Though the offer was tempting, the huge religious symbol threw me off.

And junior year, a guy friend of mine decided to get a tattoo of the San Francisco skyline on his chest because he ‘wanted to always be able to look down at it and feel closer to home.’ But once at the actual salon, he decided to do it on his back because ‘it looked so much more sick there!’ Maybe he didn’t miss home that much, after all.

Matt Smiroldo, a senior communications design major, has four tattoos and a tongue piercing. Some are for his family, and some are tributes to Pablo Picasso.

‘Picasso is one of my favorite artists,’ Smiroldo said. ‘My tattoos aren’t too deep, they’re just fun, and the tongue piercing was an impulse purchase.’

Smiroldo, like so many other of his newly inked and pierced classmates, represents the changing dynamic between body art and social representation. Like many other trends — initially outrageous and now impossible to get rid of (Lady Gaga, anyone?) — tattoos and piercings are becoming more and more neutralized and less and less serious.

So here’s what I think: If you’ve got it, flaunt it. But if you flaunt it, maybe you should just make sure it has some sort of interesting background story, or at least some semblance of a meaning. Because honestly, do you really want to have to explain to your parents about the time your friends dared you to get Bambi tattooed on your arm when you were drunk? Take it from me, the girl who may or may not have the Bambi tattoo — you definitely don’t.

Marina Charny is a senior English and textual studies and writing major. Her column appears weekly, and she can be reached at mcharny@syr.edu.

Published on September 22, 2010 at 12:00 pm