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A person's right to express themselves is protected by the constitution, however, a permanent expression of body modification such as a tattoo or a piercing may affect students' abilities to achieve their career goals.
At E.&J. Gallo Winery, a company that participates in the university's career fairs, tattoos and piercings are dealt with differently depending on where the employee works, said alumnus Katie Swing, college recruiting coordinator for the winery.
"If it can be toned down that would be better," Swing said in a phone interview. "We don't say that they're not allowed, there is no discrimination."
Employees who work with machinery are asked to remove piercings to prevent safety hazards, she said.
About 300 Chico State students hope to become educators, according to the Office of Institutional Research.
Those who have coupled their love of teaching with their love of body art and piercings can be assured that at least some school districts won't discriminate.
Although teachers come in contact with students and their families all the time, tattoos are not an issue in the hiring process in Yuba City Unified School District, said Bruce Morton, director of student welfare and attendance for the district.
"Depending on the age range of the students, the more you move up in grades, the less it matters," he said.
Members of the Sikh religion have been donning nose jewelry for generations, and it is a common accessory for many female teachers in the district, he said.
But prospective teachers who come from gang or white-supremacy-related backgrounds have been known to get tattoos removed, Morton said.
Typically, their beliefs have changed and they want to set a good example for the children, Morton said.
While a person's decision to get inked or pierced is up to them, the law doesn't guarantee protection from discrimination.
No federal law gives a person with body art explicit protection from employment discrimination on the basis of their appearance, according to Berke-Weiss & Pechman LLP, a New York law office.
This means companies' tattoo and piercing policies are at their own discretion.
More conservative companies such as Pebble Beach golf resort and spa opt for a more clean-cut look.
"We like a conservative look," said Jason Tracy, director of Pebble Beach's rooms division, in a phone interview.
Despite having no visible piercing, appearance was on A.S. Presents Program Coordinator Dwight Frey's mind when he applied to the university, he said.
Frey chopped off his dreadlocks before interviewing in 2000 because they had cost him his previous job as a taxi driver, he said.
"I didn't want to risk not getting the job because of my locks," he said.
About seven months later, Frey confessed to A.S. Executive Director David Buckley that he had cut off his locks and wanted to grow them back.
Buckley told him he shouldn't have cut them off at all, Frey said.
Despite stigmas surrounding body art and piercings, senior Kris Head, a recreation, parks and natural resources major, works as a probation officer and park ranger and has extensive tattooing on his left calf, chest and back, he said.
The Scandinavian-inspired tattoos commemorate his heritage, he said.
"My tattoos are not just pieces of art," Head said, "but memories that I strongly cherish as a reminder of my past friends, family or life events."
While there are cases where people regret their ink selection and ultimately have them removed, Head said he is proud of his decisions.
"I would never get my tattoos removed," he said. "They mean something to me."
Jessica Rhynalds can be reached at jrhynalds@theorion.com
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