A Daily Cup Of Jo
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Increase in Ink
Daisy Patino
April 8, 2013
More and more young adults are getting tattoos each day
mainly using them as symbols to express their individuality.
While others see tattoos as decisions that can threaten their
lives, image, and chances of not getting a job.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology,
36 percent out of the 45 million Americans between the
ages of 18 to 29 have at least one tattoo.
“I think society views young adults with tattoos as ‘rebels’ or ‘stupid’ because some people think that people who get tattoos don’t fully think through what they’re getting,” said Kelly Reynolds.
Kelly continued to explain how people who aren’t fans of tattoos might see them as being uncivilized and a symbol as being bad.
In Illinois the legal age to get a tattoo is 18 but lately there have been many teens under the age of 18 getting tattoos. cafemom.com took a ballot, having 15% of moms say they would allow their teenager to get a tattoo. While 30% of moms said they were uncertain or would not allow their teen to get a tattoo.
Many young adults have been influenced by the media or a famous person that they look up to causing them to get "dumb" tattoos that do not have a good meaning in their life. In the next couple of years it is most likely that the tattoo will be covered or making the teen regret the tattoo.
Rocio Patino regrets getting her first tattoo she was 15 at the time. Her first tattoo is two paw prints that are located on her side she’s planning on covering them up with something that is more meaningful for her.
Adults and parents of teens agree that teenagers should carefully think about what they want to get tattooed because it is something that will be on their body for the rest of their lives.
Not every young adult is getting a "dumb" tattoo. Many have seriously thought about it and have carefully thought about the idea of having it for the rest of their lives. For these young adults getting a tattoo signifies a story that is being told through the art in there body. Each tattoo is a symbol of importance to them.
Karissa Jackson said, "They probably get them to express some emotion or represent or signify something they hold as important."
As many teens continued to explain how they feel about tattoos, Khala Turner said, “Personally I think tattoos are like a book on the body.”
There is still a majority of teens that have tattoos with no specific meaning or story behind the tattoo; they simply just got it because it looks “cool” or “pretty.” While there is still a number of teens that are still waiting to get the perfect tattoo that expresses who they really are.
Neil “Grey” Carter, who is part owner of Ill State Ink and tattoo artist, talked about how there have been many young adults that walk in with a picture of a tattoo that they found in the internet on their phones saying that they want to get that done. “I refuse to do the same tattoo to a different person. Neil says, “tattoos are a piece of art, they are meant to be different not to be the same.”
By: Laura Ledesma
April 8, 2013
Athletics has always been a huge part of Josephinum's atmosphere. However, unlike every other sport at the Jo, the soccer department has always lacked motivation and stability until this year. Playing sports in high school has lead students to be more confident and open with themselves because it allows them to exceed outside of academics.
This is the first year that Josephinum’s soccer team is being taken seriously. There were not any try outs and players were able to miss practice as many times as they wanted without any consequences. The athletics department, and even some staff, knew that something had to be done about this.
"Because soccers my passion, coaching and teaching. In our country, soccer is opposite from every other single country in the world. In other countries it's a grass root field; people play in the dirt, street, etc. Here, is the exact opposite. It has always been a dream of mine to coach students who don't have that type of ability to form and to teach girls that love it, but have never been able to afford actually paying for it. My dream was always to give high quality training to females that they wouldn't be able to get anywhere else. Being at this school, I get to give them a soccer experience that they wouldn't be able to have outside of this school" says Coach Vai, Josephinum's new soccer coach.
This school year is the first that Josephinum has changed their soccer coaches; and with new coaches, came a whole new and improved soccer department. Players who were on the team last year, and the years before that, have seen a major change in just the two months that the season has begun.
Gaby Venegas, a senior at Josephinum that has played every year, says, "This year, playing on the team requires much more time and commitment. Players know that if they want to be on the team, they need to stay and do the work, no matter how vigorous it is. Before, many came to only few of the practices, but didn't really try that hard because they knew that they weren't going to be kicked off or their playing time wouldn't be affected."
There are certain schools in Chicago who take their soccer program very seriously. For example, St. Ignatius College Prep. Their women's soccer team practices every day, players must attend every practice, even during Spring break, and focus not only on the actual sport, but also on nutrition and weight training. Because of their hard work and dedication, St. Ignatius's women's soccer is one of the top in the city; being named IHSA Elite Eight, IHSA Sweet Sixteen, IHSA Super-Sectional Champions, IHSA Sectional Champions, IHSA Regional Champions, Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Champions, and Catholic Cup Champions for the past eight years.
Josephinum's new coaches are trying to follow in the footsteps of the top high schools that exceed in their women's soccer program. Keeping up all this hard work, dedication, and commitment, will lead Josephinum Cougars to be the best of the best.
"Mental aspect is much more of a factor for a female game rather than a male game. One of the most important things of teaching a female sport is building relationships with team and coaches and always providing positive feedback instead of yelling and getting angry. By doing that, it instills a sense of confidence and ownership. You learn what it means to achieve goals, which is much more awarding that just scoring goals" says Coach Vai.
Jo Soccer: Undefeated
By Samantha Smyser
April 8, 2013
They illegally creep across the city creating various kinds of art and placing them in plain view for the public to see. Although what they do is illegal, the people who develop these assorted works do not see themselves as criminals. These people see themselves as artists, coloring the streets and making the city into a public art gallery.
There is no specific time or place in which street art originated, but with the last few decades it has creatively consumed the streets of every continent. Street art can now be found all across the world in almost countless forms. Anything from graffiti to wheat pastes, to instillation art and even knitting intimate objects can fit under the category of street art, and artists are finding new mediums every day that push the definition of art to new extremes. The mediums in that street art is created and produced in vary so much that it is hard to define what exactly street art is. A loose definition of street art could be: a public display of art created with or without proper permission.
Artists choose to take their art to the streets for many reasons. Some artists choose to make public art because they feel that art should be free, use it as means of free advertisement, oppose art galleries and standard show rooms, and, or simply enjoy transforming streets and neighborhoods into public art canvases. Other artists use this public space as means of activism. They use questioning words and images and put them in places where people do not have a choice but to look at it, they push societal ideals and make statements about current events, politics, religion etc. These art forms make people think about what is going on around them.
Local Chicago street artist known as "Leo", states that he creates street art because he has always had a "high appreciation for art" and thinks that "everyone should have the same opportunities to view and experience art in daily situations".
Although some people appreciate these colorful acts, others disagree with their significance. There is quite a bit of controversy on the topic of street art due to the fact that a large majority of this art is being displayed illegally on private or city property. Many people view this "art form" as no more than vandalism.
There is not much authorities can do to stop theses acts but create stricter laws and more serious consequences, but even then many artists find their cause worth the risk. Some artists even take the stricter consequences as a challenge and enjoy the adrenaline rush they experience when installing or creating their art. Also most of these acts take place quickly in the darkness of night and are difficult to catch in progress.
"When first starting out the adrenaline pumps vigorously, but as time passes by the adrenaline rush is no longer a motive. I create street art to make the world a brighter place and make ordinary streets just a bit more interesting." - Street artist known as "Buelr", Chicago IL
Weather one agrees with the purpose of street art or not, it has found a place into the culture of our society. And weather or not the specific art form is temporary or not, street art has established a seemingly permanent niche in our cities - So, keep your eyes open while walking down the street, you never know what masterpiece you may discover.
It's More than Vandalism
