THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 15, 1996 TAG: 9603150060
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KATIE PFLEGER, CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
ALTHOUGH the polo player on Ralph Lauren's insignia probably doesn't have a nose ring, students sporting Lauren's sportswear at the University of Virginia just might.
Body piercing, a trend that originated in California, has made its way east to Charlottesville. And even at Mr. Jefferson's university - renowned for its conservative atmosphere and deeply ingrained traditions - students are sporting punched eyebrows, belly buttons, tongues and even, ahem, places more private.
Some, like junior Lyons Hardy of Williamsburg, adorn themselves with multiple piercings in the eyebrow, tongue, navel, ear cartilage and lobe.
``A lot of them get the idea from a friend,'' said Hardy, who also does piercing at Red Dragon Tattoo Parlor. ``. . .Most U.Va. students get their belly buttons pierced, but lately I have been doing a lot of tongues.''
She added: ``I see it as mainstream. I have a weird perspective on it. I don't see people as not the type to get pierced, because everyone is getting it done. I see people walking to class all the time that I pierced.''
Not everybody has adjusted so quickly.
Chemistry professor Carl Trindle, the director of studies for a residential college on campus, lives among a small community of students, serving as their adviser.
Trindle sees the increase in body piercing as a way for the new generation to express itself, much like the long hair of the '60s. It is ``something I find very strange,'' he acknowledged. ``But body ornamentation has been going on for ages in many different cultures.''
John Dinan, a graduate student from Alexandria who has been at U.Va. for 10 years, has watched body piercing evolve from a deviant expression into an almost conventional style.
``At U.Va., there used to be a place called the Cave in Old Cabell Hall,'' he said. ``People who hung out there wore dark clothes. It was an English major's kind of place. On a good day, you might see one or two people there with piercing . . . off of the ears. Now, you see it all over.''
Trindle thinks it's ``a case of a new generation trying to shock an older one.'' But most piercers don't see it that way.
Some say they got into piercing because it was temporary or they wanted to stand out in a crowd. Others say they experience a kind of addiction from the endorphins released after the piercing. ``It is something that happens to your body that won't normally happen,'' Hardy said. ``Once you experience it, you keep wanting to do it.''
Now that Vu Nguyen, a junior from Annandale studying sociology, has pierced his nose twice and his nipple, tongue and ear once each, he cannot cite one specific reason for his piercing enthusiasm.
``I don't know why,'' Nguyen said. ``It's a craze, a wave. First I got my nipple pierced because it was easy to conceal. . . . The pain is all right; I guess it is addictive.''
Some students see their college years as their last chance to bend social rules. For instance, Amanda Marsh, a senior engineering major from Midlothian, wore a stud in her nose and a hoop in her belly button.
But fearful of risking her chances in job interviews, she recently removed the jewelry, announcing, ``It is time to grow up.'' Nguyen also said he plans on getting rid of his jewelry when he settles down and becomes ``domesticated.''
Officials at U.Va.'s Office of Career Planning and Placement, which assists students in their job search, say body piercing has not really been an issue in their office.
``We don't have a specific policy dealing with body piercing,'' said Tom Fitch, assistant director of experiential programs. ``As long as a student makes a responsible decision, there shouldn't be any problems with possible employers.''
Whether or not the jewelry becomes a permanent part of person, it has its costs - on the wallet and on the patience. For instance, Sam Levine, a senior from Connecticut who plans to attend medical school next year and who pierced her navel last year, sometimes finds sleeping on her stomach or wearing certain clothes can irritate the hole.
In addition to minor hassles, body piercing can cost an average of $30 to $50 for the service and the jewelry. But Nguyen economically decided to take matters into his own hands. After having his nipple pierced at a store in Northern Virginia, he did the rest by himself.
``I just stuck my tongue out and did it in the mirror,'' he said. ``I pierced my tongue very slowly because I had to get it straight.''
The metal rod Nguyen wears in his tongue caused him problems just twice: The week after he pierced it, his tongue swelled so much that he had to use a fork to move his food around his mouth. Later, he accidentally bit the rod.
Piercing artists are critical of do-it-yourself piercing.
``People definitely should be careful, do research and look at the techniques people use,'' Hardy said. For example, ``any experienced body piercer wouldn't use a gun. . . . (A gun) can't be sterilized, the piercing stud isn't sharp, and the stud only comes in one length.
``It's better to use a needle and a ring.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Stephanie Gross
Samantha Levine, a U.Va. senior from Connecticut who hopes to attend
medical school, sports a pierced navel.
KEYWORDS: BODY PIERCING by CNB