The octopus on my arm: Making the choice to ink up

Cody LaRosa, junior exercise science major, and Mike Slezak, senior biology major, have matching tattoos that read “Famiglia Sempre” which means family forever in Italian. “Family is the most important thing to me,” LaRosa said.

Cody LaRosa, junior exercise science major, and Mike Slezak, senior biology major, have matching tattoos that read “Famiglia Sempre” which means family forever in Italian. “Family is the most important thing to me,” LaRosa said.

It’s a decision often hard to make, but permanently marking one’s body with tattoos does not seem to faze students. According to a study done by the Pew Research Center in 2013, 40 percent of young Americans (ages 18-25) have at least one tattoo.