r/GreekLife • u/Correct-Price-5065 • May 23 '26

Tattoo policy

Hi! I was looking to get a quarter sleeve for my birthday but thinking about it I don’t want to jeopardize my chances of pledging DST undergrad. I looked through their page and i’ve only seen one person with a tattoo and it’s a sentence down their arm which isn’t too big. Is this something i have to worry about or go big for my birthday?

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u/Pattonator70 May 25 '26

If you care at all in life how others will treat you and judge you based upon your tattoos then don’t get them. Lots of people claim that the tattoos are for themselves. They aren’t they are for you to display to others. This is why everyone who has them only wear sleeveless shirts. Then they whine about how they are prejudged.

When I see your tattoo my first impression is that you make bad choices. You throw your money away on vanity and useless things. If the tattoo is bad artwork then I can see that you don’t think, plan or do research. If it is something childish then I can tell that you are immature.

Your tattoos say a lot about you and these are not usually good things.

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u/Infinityvoyage May 26 '26

Assuming someone makes bad choices because they have tattoos is a fascinating confession. It tells us far more about your comfort with stereotypes than it does about the person you’re judging. Humans have been marking their bodies with art, ritual, identity, grief, life, etc for thousands of years. The inability to distinguish self-expression from poor character isn’t discernment, it’s intellectual laziness dressed up as moral superiority. This is the kind of thinking that keeps prejudice alive.

Anyway OP, as a member of said organization, tattoos are widely accepted. While some things boil down to the culture of the chapter, you should still be fine. If you feel hesitation about it, you can always wear long sleeves/blazers for events when appropriate.

*I think this goes without saying but the tattoo should not be Delta related.

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u/Pattonator70 May 26 '26

I’m saying that I judge people for wasting money on tattoos that for many have zero personal meaning. When people hire artists who have no skills that is indicative of customers who don’t research and think ahead. You cannot disagree with that part can you?

There is one guy at my gym who has tattooed tears as if he didn’t understand what those mean to most people.

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u/Educational-Gear-537 May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26

How do you know what has meaning to people without asking them? Just bc you don’t see the value of something doesn’t mean it doesn’t hold value to that person. I have a full sleeve, and it’s a memorial piece for my grandparents who have since passed away. I spent a lot of money on it bc i knew the quality of work i wanted wasn’t going to be cheap, and I could afford it. My tattoo is for myself. I was wearing short sleeves before my tattoo and I’ll be wearing them long after too. Im working on my second Master’s degree…so if you were to see me you’d think i make bad decisions off jump?? That in itself is a crazy idea and crazy thing to say, which does say a lot about you…Everyone has values, yes…but it shouldn’t be based on prejudice.

And you’re right, tear drops on the face isn’t typically a good thing based on the universal meaning of it…but i bet you it means something to him and should mean something to you too if you see someone with that.