It should come as no surprise that many Wesleyan students choose to keep their art close at hand, sometimes to a literal, extreme extent.

Though most students are still bundled up in their puffy jackets, the inevitable springtime shift to T-shirts and shorts often reveals a plethora of as-yet-unseen tattoos and piercings.

With the popularity of David Fincher’s adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” thrusting inked art further into popular consciousness, The Argus decided to forego waiting for the spring and preemptively sought out some examples of body art on campus.

Contrary to popular belief, tattoos aren’t just for the punks. The practice seems to transcend social circles, and ink can be found on the skin of anyone, from artists and athletes to computer science majors.

Sophomore Gregory Faxon’s side is inscribed with the word “Desire” in a large shaded font.

“I am very purpose-driven,” Faxon said. “I like to have something that reminds me to think about exactly what I want so that I don’t just walk through my life aimlessly.”

For Carly Ciricillo ’15, the words of choice were taken from a Phish song: “In and out of focus: time turns elastic.”

Other tattoos deal in the pictorial, with many using shapes, characters, and color elements to represent things that students find symbolic or deserving of commemoration.

Alma Sanchez-Eppler ’14, who has two tattoos, based her first off of the illustrations in a children’s story, the Paper Bag Princess.

“The book is about how a dragon burns down her castle and steals her prince,” she said. “Essentially, she tricks the dragon and saves him, but her prince is pretty unimpressed. [The story’s conclusion] reflects on my feminism. [The Princess] ultimately says ‘you’re a bum, and I don’t need you.’”

Her second tattoo is a line-drawn sketch of a llama on her bicep.

Like Sanchez-Eppler, many students select tattoos based on issues of personal identity and meaning. Eric Stephen ’13, for example, has a tattoo on his upper arm with a line from a song by Icelandic band Sigur Ros. Stephen explained that the song addresses LGBT issues in Iceland and felt that the content of the song resonated with him.

“When I decided I wanted to get a tattoo, I knew I wanted it to include an LGBT reference, because being queer has always been a big part of my identity,” Stephen said. “It translates, ‘We dreamed, we had everything.’ I think it’s a really optimistic message about civil rights and the idea that reform is possible.”

However, despite the effort and planning that often goes into getting a tattoo, many students noted that one of the most engaging aspects of the experience was the adrenaline high.

For Siyou Tan ’12, who has two tattoos, the adrenaline high came from the atmosphere of the parlor and the “bone-rattling pain” she got from the needles.

“I liked the sound of the drill, the studio, and the thought of something being inked onto my skin,” she said.

Tan’s first tattoo is on her back—a hot air balloon with a skull in the center, done in a street-art, graffiti style. Tan chose her second tattoo, an anatomical representation of a heart, to be in the center of her chest.

“When I was younger, I thought that my heart was in the middle of my chest, so I would always take my pledge by putting my hand in the middle,” she said. “Then, when I went to school, I saw that everyone took their pledge on the left, and I realized I was doing it wrong.”

Having her tattoo in the middle of her heart reminds Tan of who she was when she was younger and what she believed in.

Most students referenced the seemingly obvious point that once they got a tattoo there was no going back. For some, this reality prompted them to be conscious of certain stigmas associated with being inked.

“I think that in a lot of representations, especially in movies, tattoos are associated with some kind of darker underbelly of society or of a person,” Tan said. “And that’s a kind of stigma that can be hard to get rid of.”

Sanchez-Eppler acknowledged this stigma, but had a self-described “natural selection” attitude about her job prospects.

“Frankly, anywhere that would not hire me because of my body art is not a place where I want to be working,” she said.

Stephen said he hoped to get another tattoo soon, although now he has a better idea what to look for and what to expect during the process.

“My first experience was pretty awkward,” Stephen said. “We went to this place out of geographic convenience and because it had good online ratings. The guy who gave me my tattoo was watching ‘Bowling for Columbine’ while he was tattooing me. But it was actually fine—he did a really good job with it.”

Tan expressed even more confidence in the experience.

“I envision [getting tattoos] will be a lifelong process for me,” she said.

Tan also jokingly pointed out that tattoos do not always have to be symbolic of something.

“I just wanted to get a tattoo because I didn’t want to be a washed out on a beach somewhere and have no one recognize me,” she said.