The free online dictionary defines a semicolon as “a mark of punctuation used to indicate a major division in a sentence.” For many, however, the semicolon is a symbol that means much more than punctuation.
The third annual Semicolon Tattoo Project will be held at local tattoo shops this Saturday as a fundraiser for the Agora Crisis Center. The project originated as a social media movement in 2013 for which people drew semicolons on their bodies and posted pictures of them to show support for those whose lives have been touched by mental illness and its effects.
Jenn Brown, a program specialist for Agora, said she has seen the project grow from being an idea in the office to a community event, to a national phenomenon. Brown said she’s been overwhelmed by the amount of support the project received nationally.
“I love that our community is coming together in such a creative way to support each other. I’m anticipating a really awesome turnout,” Brown said. “During our second year, we doubled our participation from the first, and this year we are looking to just blow that out of the water.”
She said although the semicolon project focuses primarily on mental illness and suicide awareness, Agora exists to help people tackle any issue. In addition to having highly trained, skilled volunteers there to listen to issues, the organization seeks to provide callers with options or referrals to help them with their issues, she said.
Agora is a student-run organization that provides free, confidential support to people locally and around the nation. Molly Brack, the director of Agora, said the crisis center was created in 1970 after a freshman UNM student took his own life.
The student approached a psychology professor, but he was referred to student health and counseling, where he was told he could not be seen for two weeks. He then tried to get counseling outside of school, but didn’t have the money to do so, so he committed suicide soon after, she said.
After the tragedy, a group of students and professors decided to form the Agora Crisis Center so that nobody in need of help would ever have to wait again.
Agora is currently the only student-run program in the United States that serves people across the nation, which includes the national Semicolon Tattoo Project.
Whitnee Chavez, a junior psychology major, works on the executive committee for Agora. She began volunteering this past spring and said she felt moved to help people that might not have a support system to turn to.
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“I just always have wanted to reach out to others and be that person that they could talk to and feel comfortable with when there’s no one else,” Chavez said.
Chavez said she thinks the help the organization is able to provide can be mutually beneficial and very rewarding.
“The community is a very supportive one,” she said. “It’s almost like a family experience, if you don’t have that.”
Angela Beattie, a heart transplant recipient, received her semicolon tattoo over the summer. She said she was looking for something that would be a symbol for that chapter in her life, and that captured the struggles and emotions she went through during the process. Beattie decided to get a semicolon tattoo that reads “my story isn’t over yet;” with a heart inserted as the top part of the semicolon.
“I read about it and liked what it stood for,” Beattie said. “It reminds me that as long as I’m still here, I have to keep going, keep pushing. And, of course, I wanted something with a heart.”
Even with a second lease on life, she knows there will still be obstacles to overcome, she said. Beattie was recently hospitalized after her body began showing signs of rejecting the heart almost six years after the transplant. Fittingly, she was able to fight back until she was healthy enough for release because, for Beattie and for so many others that display the semicolon tattoo, the story isn’t over yet.
Tattoos will be performed from noon to 8 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis at the following tattoo shops: King’s Kreation
117 7th St. NW
505-243-1391
Archetype Dermigraphic Studio/Gallery
529 Adams St. NE
505-265-0972
71 Tattoo
9800 Montgomery Blvd. NE #1
505-294-8384,
Stylistic Ink
4807 Lomas Blvd. NE
505-232-9029
Those interested can also pre-purchase a tattoo through the Semicolon Tattoo Project Facebook page and present valid identification at any of the locations. Several design options are available, starting at $38. For those who already have a semicolon tattoo, there are options designed to add on to the existing ink. For those who aren’t ready or able to make a permanent commitment, temporary tattoos are available as well.
Those interested in supporting Agora in alternative ways can donate at www.agoracares.org/donate-to-agora.html
Robert Maler is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
