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semele

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Posts posted by semele

    Tattoos and the workplace

    in General Tattoo Discussion

    Posted

    Hahaha it depends on the campus - my university is tiny and very conservative, so I imagine it's different than teaching at, say, Berkeley or something.

    That said, colleges campuses are definitely looser in the sense that there don't tend to be dress codes at all, but like I said, we end up policing ourselves based on how it is helpful to be perceived. If I didn't already struggle to have people take me seriously as a prof (I look about the same age as my students, and at least once a week someone--an admin, student, other prof, whatever--will literally NOT BELIEVE ME when I tell them I teach here) I would probably be more open to showing my tattoos. But as it is, this whole "you don't look like a professor" think already means I have to fight to be taken seriously, which makes it that much harder to do my job, etc.

    I teach at a huge public university, and I let my tattoos show at work. I dress professionally to teach, but the sleeves and now my chest show most of the time. It doesn't seem to affect my classes or classroom authority very much, and I'm a pretty small young-looking lady too, but I like to keep my classes more casual than formal anyway.

    I guess I don't really aim to seem professorial when I teach--at least where I am now, just standing in front of the classroom and acting in charge seems to make them respect me, but I'm not teaching super high level classes or graduate students, either.

    That said, I think if I had intended on staying in academia or was trying to get a tenure-track position, I'd probably cover up more in the office. There's no dress code and no one has ever said anything negative to me, but out of the fifty or so people in my humanities department, there are only a couple of us with tattoos period, and I'm the only one approaching heavily tattooed. It probably wouldn't completely screw me over--we had a visiting professor a couple years ago with his hand done--but I don't think even public schools in academia are super tattoo-friendly, even if they're quiet about it.

    The freshmen might think I'm the coolest adjunct in the department, though.

    How to plan for NY?

    in General Tattoo Discussion

    Posted

    A place to stay is what's going to really soak you in NYC. When I visit and am spending my own money, I've enjoyed the character of the Chelsea Hotel. It's not fancy, but interesting - and right down in the middle of most of it.

    Chelsea Hotel (New York City, NY) - Hotel Reviews - TripAdvisor

    Pretty sure the Hotel Chelsea closed as a hotel a year or so ago, they're turning it into condos or some shit. There used to be a tattoo shop in one of its store fronts. A shame nobody can stay there anymore, it was seedy and had a lot of history and character.

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