Campaign advocates responsible tattoo decisions

The Think About It committee kicks off its campaign about responsible tattooing this semester by displaying photographs of student tattoos in UNC Asheville’s Highsmith Union. It is the first of several presentations in the campaign aimed at getting students to think critically about getting a tattoo before they walk into the tattoo parlor.

“We are taking photos of tattoos from the UNCA community, and what we want to do is post them up around campus so people see that this is something that we are embracing. I think a lot of young people automatically assume that when you’re doing a campaign on tattoos, you’re trying to educate against it,” said Courtney Gauthier, an AmeriCorp/VISTA employee serving with the Center for Diversity Education. “What we are saying is to think about it before you get a tattoo.”

Tattoos gained popularity in recent years, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, which found that 24 percent of Americans between ages 18 and 50 are tattooed.

“I got my first tattoo the day I turned 18,” said Stephen Welch, a creative writing student at UNCA. “I’ve wanted tattoos since I was about three years old. I remember asking my parents to let me get a Ninja Turtle tattoo, and they told me no. I’m still probably going to get one just as a tribute to that.”

The campaign aims to raise awareness about responsible tattooing practices, and to get students to think before they get a tattoo, said Jewell Gist, an assistant to the multicultural student program and to the student activities and integrated learning.

“We didn’t really want to be the policemen of tattoos,” Gist said. “We’re not trying to decide whether or not you should have a tattoo. It’s about choices. The choice of choosing the right artist, choosing where to get it and choosing the right tattoo for you.”

The campaign spanned from the idea of talking about decisions that are going to effect students for the rest of their lives, Gist said. Tattoos are much more expensive to remove than to acquire.

Treatment to remove a tattoo varies from $100 per treatment for a small, single-color tattoo with removal in one or two sessions to $500 per treatment to remove larger, multicolored body art in as many as eight visits, according to the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

“It’s about making wise choices,” Gist said. “In other words, if you’re going to be a banker, you don’t necessarily want one on your neck. It’s cool if you’re a rock star, but it’s just about making smart choices.”

The campaign aims to get students researching the artists and tattoo parlors before they decide to use that particular person. Looking at an artist’s portfolio is a great way to get an idea of the artist’s capabilities, according to Gauthier.

“I think that you should put time and consideration into what you get, where you get it, and who you get it from,” history student Josh Kearns said.

The reasons people decide to get tattoos are as wide and varied as the tattoos themselves.

“I have two tattoos. I think that it is just another form of self-expression that can serve as decoration, adornment and reminders of things that have happened,” Gauthier said. “But it is important to think about how it’s going to play out for you in the future. Think about where you’re going to place it and how it might affect a potential position if you’re in an interview. If you have sleeve tattoos, you know to wear long sleeve shirts and then find out what the climate of the office is.”

With more than 25 tattoo shops in the Asheville area, it is easy to find an artist to slap on the ink we want, but it is sometimes hard to decide what kind of art we want to display on our body.

Many students give several reasons for why they decided to get their tattoo, which ranged from their fraternity’s emblem to symbolic Japanese characters.

“The latest tattoo I got was a cardinal on my arm with some dogwood blossoms, because I was born in North Carolina and North Carolina is really close to my heart,” Welch said.

Kearns said he got a tattoo of his family’s coat of arms above his heart because it is important to him and he wanted to celebrate it by putting it on his body.

“I’m really into my Irish heritage. I got it right above my heart,” Kearns said.

Sarah Jane Moore, an art student, said she thinks it is really important to get something meaningful.

“My tattoo is ‘Vita,’ which is my grandmother’s maiden name. I got it to remind me of where I come from,” Moore said.

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