 "Photo: Angie Woody/The Penn")
Penn editors are a people of ink - of ink that stains your fingers and of ink that marks our bodies to remind us of chapters in our lives. Some may have heard our stories before; nonetheless, these are the stories of those who write yours.
Heather Blake-Managing Editor
The dolphin, the favorite animal of Managing Editor Heather Blake (junior, journalism), is for her a symbol of intelligence and peace.
According to dolphins-world.com, the average bottlenose dolphin brain weighs 1500 to 1600 grams, while the average human brain weighs 1200 to 1300 grams.
Though this may not be conclusive evidence, the Web site says "brain capacity is a clear indication that dolphins have at least potential intelligence."
"I would say that we don't know everything about them yet," Blake said.
In the summer of 2003, Justin Cigola of Big Mojo Tattoo and Body Piercing etched a pair of the mammals onto Blake's lower back.
Bordered with two Celtic knots, two dolphins unite in a kiss that guards a third Celtic knot.
Directly above this is the Japanese/Chinese symbol for friend, which bonds her with friends Vicki and Misty as a symbol of the closeness the three cultivated while working at Taylor Nelson Sofres Intersearch.
Though Misty's and Blake's brothers played little league together, the two didn't get to know each other until working at TNS Intersearch.
Wanting to maintain a permanent bond, the three got the tattoos together.
Perhaps, she and Misty will be reunited if Blake chooses a position in Washington, D.C., where her longtime friend now resides.
"When I graduate, I either want to work as the editor of a newspaper or go into government public affairs," Blake said.
Jacquie Trump-Copy Editor
In the summer of 2006, Copy Editor Jacquie Trump (sophomore, English) went to Carla at Skin Flix in Northampton to have the Chinese symbol for dragon scribed onto the nape of her neck.
A fan of astrology, Trump finds much meaning in astrological predictions.
"I think that there is a lot of things that we don't understand about the universe, and it impacts us more than we think," Trump said.
Carla tattooed a second piece onto Trump's shoulder to serve as a physical rendering of a spiritual connection with her father, Dan Trump, and grandfather, Donald K. Trump.
Although Donald suffered from Alzheimer's disease for six years before he passed away, Trump remembers him as a humble and optimistic fellow, "always happy to be doing just what he was doing."
Artists at Skin Flix tattooed iron crosses with "DKT" above them onto Trump and her father at the same time in November of 2007, along with their nicknames for him below the crosses: "Gabok" for Trump and "Dad" for her father's.
"He was such a great man, but he wasn't himself in those years," said Trump, who believes he's looking over the shoulder she's marked with his initials.
"I wanted to get this tattoo with my dad because he's one of my best friends in the world and it's just a physical reminder of the awesome connection we have," Trump said.
Trump intends to have a Celtic cross tattooed in the middle of her back, not as a symbol of a specific church, but as a symbol of the faith in a greater being.
She admires the faith of the Celts, especially in the face of their many tribulations.
"I consider myself agnostic in the sense that I believe there is something bigger than us out there, but I haven't been convinced by anything I've heard yet," Trump said.
After graduation, Trump wishes to find a career at a publishing firm, working with authors to ready their books by deadline. She may eventually work toward a master's in order to teach at the university level.
Jazminn Jones-Online Editor
Tattoos of two of her nicknames tie Online Editor Jazminn Jones (sophomore, English) to her family and friends.
Jones remembers starting to listen to jazz while growing up, sparking the nickname "Jazzy."
Still a fan, Jones has found herself enamored with the work of Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, as of late.
"Music is a really big part of my life. I love to sing . . . and listen to smooth jazz, like Miles Davis," Jones said.
At her friend Vince's birthday/tattoo party, Jones waited until 3 a.m. to have the working artist tattoo music notes above "Jazzy" with a rose underneath.
In September 2007, Jones had an artist at Studio 69 in Indiana imprint her nickname "Ju-Ju," used by her friends, across her lower back amid green and black stars.
"Everybody calls me [Ju-Ju] even if they don't know me. If I hear someone call me Jazminn, I'm scared," Jones said, laughing.
Spur of the moment, Jones decided to get a pair of cherries tattooed onto her right forearm at her friend Malik's graduation party, at home in Philadelphia.
She plans to add on these in the future.
To represent the transcending of the pain of bullying that plagued her youth, Jones wishes to tattoo a cherry tree in blossom and an eagle onto her shoulder with the words "Storms make trees take deeper roots."
"Whatever problems I have now, I can make it past them," Jones said.
Though Jones isn't exactly sure where the future will take her, she'd like a career writing novels and books or in journalism.
Rachael Parker-Editor-in-Chief
Editor in Chief Rachael Parker (senior, journalism/anthropology) bares kind memories of a small, empty apartment with a sole light bulb and a close circle of friends with the tattoo on the inside of her left forearm.
Her high school nights were spent snacking on vegetables, posing for photographs for a friend's photography portfolio and doing sketches of fellow '"THU kids" in the apartment above a photography studio.
"It was very wholesome. No one smoked, drank or did drugs. We all just hung out," Parker said.
The name came to them shortly after they began discussing it. Having lunch together at a Ground Round, a friend found a sticker labeled "THU" in her French onion soup. The group took it as a sign and began calling themselves "THU kids."
The last time they were all home, they realized it might be the last time they'd all be together.
"One went to Tibet. One went to Japan. One was living in Savannah, Georgia. One was staying in Hawaii and another in New York," Parker said.
Parker and her friend Caitlyn decided to get tattoos together to remember the group they grew up with. Mike Martin at Angry Moon in the Southside of Pittsburgh inked a rendering of her friend's sketch onto Parker's left forearm.
Parker was surprised by the bright tones of orange, red and yellow that formed a light bulb with "THU" etched above its filaments.
Parker had a "mini panic-attack" when she saw the orange ink, in the place of black; but is pleased with Martin's rendering of the sketch.
"You can take chances and sometimes you might surprise yourself," Parker said.
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