Tattoo U

For some, a tattoo is a sophomore summer ritual, for others, it's a rite of passage. Whatever the reason, tattooed students are increasingly common on campus.

"Years ago the only people I did were jocks wanting Dartmouth Indian pieces," says Tom Ball, owner of Tatunka Tattoo in nearby Lyme. "Now there's more

variety." Ball says that men favor something Dartmouth related fraternity letters or a sports symbol like a winged foot or a crew blade. Women prefer more feminine images like butterflies, strawberries, flowers, or dolphins. But, this being Dartmouth, most students don't go under the needle without first considering their futures.

"I'm proud of my fraternity, but I wanted the tattoo in a place where not everyone could see it," says Mike Armstrong '97, whose Sigma Phi Epsilon letters are embedded in his upper thigh. "You never know who you are going to meet. And jobwise, there are still preconceived ideas about people with tattoos." When Camille Masini '97 got her tattoo of an Egyptian symbol on her hip, she already had saved up the thousand dollars it will take to get it removed just in case. "Getting a tattoo is sort of like students here getting dogs," she says. "What they don't realize is they'll have this dog for the next 15 years."

"My mom said 'I can't wait until you get pregnant. It'll look like a big fried egg,'" says Suzanne Breselor '97, who has a bright red, yellow, and orange sunburst on her right hip.

"For me it was a way of not buying into the system," says Jeremy Stackawitz'97, who got his green and blackyin-yang on his right shoulder his freshman winter. "Going to Dartmouth and going into business...it differentiates you. You're not just another white shirt."

Ball says he will not tattoo anyone who has been drinking, and he gives everyone advice—especially if he thinks a student is picking a stupid design or putting it in a stupid place. Says Ball, "When parents spend $120,000 on an education, they don't want their kid coming home with a tattoo."