Darrin Policar, better known as "the guy who dresses like a pirate," made a name for himself in his first month-and-a-half on campus. Everyone either has seen or heard of the freshman that dresses like a pirate, and has probably wondered about the reasoning behind his attire.
"I decided to dress like a pirate in 10th grade one day in English class," Policar said. "Back then, the outfit was a lot different than it is today. I had some pantaloons, a striped shirt, an eye patch and a tri-corner hat. I had intended for this to be a one-time thing, something that you do not expect to do ever again."
Policar quickly changed his perception after unexpected success in the initial endeavor: "It just turned out so well that I continued to dress up like a pirate."
The pirate trend continued through high school when he was voted Prom King in the outfit, and it has evolved into his regular attire. In addition to his pirate costume, he owns 16 different hats and costumes enabling him to dress like the King of Spain or to wear a Chinese bathrobe, just to mention a couple.
He accompanies these costumes with an accent, which changes according to his mood or how he feels in the morning. "Sometimes you just wake up and want to speak with a French accent that day," he said.
His reasoning behind his costuming is simple and honest: "Deep down everyone wants to be noticed, to have some sort of fame. It's a lot harder to do that on a college campus than in high school."
Dressing up, especially as a pirate, is something that he hopes to continue throughout his college career. "I plan to use it a lot less frequently [in my professional career]," he commented. "That does not mean I'll phase it out entirely. I'm not going to wear it to work, but I might wear it out occasionally."
Policar, a history major, wants to be a "normal high school social studies teacher." His favorite periods in history are ancient times, such as the Babylonian, Persian, and ancient biblical, as well as the Crusades.
"If I meet a hundred people in one night, most of them probably won't remember me by name, but a large majority of them will remember the guy dressed up as a pirate," he said.
He noted that, for the most part, he likes people and enjoys being the center of attention. "I'm really good at playing a character," Policar said when asked about a career in entertainment. "I'm terrible at acting though, I can't memorize the scripts at all."
Policar acknowledged the fact that not everyone can look past the costume, and he's fine with that. "There will be a lot of people who will only see the pirate costume, and some people who won't see it at all, and to them I will just be Darrin," he said.
While he intends to settle down and have a normal life and career, he'll always treasure his identity. "I feel like a pirate;" he said, "it's what I am."