'Captain' to take a stab at politics

RALEIGH — With raucous cheers, N.C. State University students celebrated the victory of their next student body president — Will “The Pirate Captain” Piavis.

Black Long John Silver hats rested on the heads of Piavis’ supporters, who filled a majority of the room in which the announcement was made.

Piavis, who received 58 percent of the vote in the runoff contest against the current student body vice president, accepted his position after a creative but controversial campaign that drew a record number of voters and a significant amount of criticism.

“Ne’er been a battle as fine as this,” said scurvy crew member Scallywag, a junior engineering student at NCSU.

UNC-Chapel Hill Student Body President Seth Dearmin said he looks forward to becoming acquainted with The Pirate Captain and “finding out his real name.”

“He ran a successful campaign, and I just hope for the sake of N.C. State student government and for the UNC system that he does a good job,” Dearmin said.

Piavis’ campaign had enormous success in rallying the students, and the newly elected president said he plans to work with the Student Senate to address students’ needs.

“We just be hopin’ they bae showin’ us the respect that should bae had,” Piavis said.

Matt Calabria, 2004-05 UNC-CH student body president, acknowledged that Piavis’ humorous campaign drew attention and votes but said that if The Pirate Captain does not take the job seriously, the school’s students will suffer.

“(N.C. State) students picked someone who is very popular,” he said. “I hope that is coupled with the potential to help the student body.”

Although Piavis’ unique campaign techniques — which included a parrot, a slew of crew members and a plank in place of a platform — proved successful, NCSU students will be barred in the future from competing under an assumed name.

The NCSU Student Senate recently passed an amendment prohibiting future candidates from running under an alias. Election statutes at UNC-CH already require candidates to provide their legal name to be included on the ballot.

Without such restrictions, The Pirate Captain captured the presidency and celebrated with his scurvy crew. While his followers toasted his success at East Village Bar & Grill, Piavis seemed more serious, with the great task of leading the student body looming before him.

Student Senator Scott Stephenson said students view student government as rather ineffective and question if it really has any effect on the quality of campus life.

Stephenson said Piavis paid more attention to student needs than did his competitors and called the Captain a much-needed breath of fresh air. “I think that he brings something different to the table,” Stephenson said. “He’s already shown he can get the students behind him.”

Dearmin said one obstacle Piavis will face is proving that he is more than just a jokester.

“He is going to have a little bit of a tough time making people think he’s serious about the work he’s doing,” he said. “At the same time, there’s nothing saying he can’t do it.”

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.