Whil Piavis, a senior in mechanical engineering, became famous in the 2005 Student Government elections under the guise of The Pirate Captain. He ran on a platform — called his plank — of tuition and fee issues and pirate flair.

Clad in pirate garb complete with eye patch and parrot, Piavis created an enormous amount of controversy and support among the student body. Piavis withdrew from Student Government in April after his tenure to focus on his senior year of school.

“I knew I would not have time [if I continued],” Piavis said, adding that these days he is doing “a lot of scheming.”

Aside from his personal projects, he said he is just doing class work.

“[My crew and I are] orating a bunch of stories we’ve written, we might play it on the radio,” Piavis said. “They’re absolutely hilarious.”

He said he is also making a movie about college.

“[It] talks about community issues like drugs, sex and rock-and-roll — all the things you should know about college,” he said.

Now that Piavis is sans pirate garb and has cropped his hair, fewer people recognize him. However, when he tells people his last name, he said they recognize him as “that pirate guy.”

While the controversy surrounding his pirating ways was not always beneficial, Piavis’ antics gave some a poor view of Student Government.

“My thing was trying to get people involved,” Piavis said. “I think we opened the eyes of a lot of students.” However, Piavis said that some personal vendettas against him, particularly among a few student senators, got in the way of him doing his job.

“It wasted more time than I’ve ever seen,” he said, “I’m glad to be rid of them.”

While the makeup of Student Government has changed after the departure of The Pirate Captain, Piavis said “it’s the same as always.”

Piavis said he was happy with Student Body President Will Quick’s work on implementing the Red Terror Transit, among other projects.

“He is doing a good job with the executive branch,” he said.

According to the Student Government voting Web site, the sheer volume of publicity created by Piavis made a huge difference in the voter turnout.

In the 2004 spring election, only 18.5 percent of eligible voters cast ballots whereas in spring 2005, when Piavis ran, 26.9 percent of eligible voters cast ballots.

Listed on the ballot as The Pirate Captain, Piavis swabbed the deck with the other candidates. He received 40.2 percent of the vote in the general election and 58 percent in the runoff against Will Quick. Quick received 20.5 percent in the general election.

Piavis went on to lead Student Government though a year almost as filled with controversy as his campaign. The following year, Quick went on to win the title of student body president with 26.5 percent of the vote in the general election and 61.0 percent in the runoff against Will Langley.

Reflecting on Piavis’ presidency, Quick said, “I think Whil did a better job than anybody else energizing people about Student Government.” While he said Piavis’ presidency had good and bad qualities, “either way, people found out about Student Government.”

Quick said his challenge is to use the current level of attention on Student Government to “provide tangible services for students.”

“We’re extending the Red Terror Transit to basketball,” Quick said. His administration has also created the Hillsborough Street Guide, which provides students with useful information about businesses on Hillsborough Street.