As students make late night journeys back to their dorms, from out of nowhere, Tarzan appears on a golf cart with music blaring.

As students make late night journeys back to their dorms, from out of nowhere, Tarzan appears on a golf cart with music blaring.

He offers them a ride, and they cordially accept.

This long-haired, Lebanese Tarzan look-alike who just saved them a daunting trek across campus is Dan Tanury, a character all his own.

The sophomore criminology major taunts normality, making his college experience one all his own.

Tanury defies convention both in his appearance and in the lighthearted charismatic fashion in which he lives.

Tanury basks in the glory of his ponytail and his “terrorist beard.”

“I want to grow it out ’til I go home for Christmas to see what they will do to me at the security line,” he said. After the holiday he kept it for awhile explaining simply, “It’s my thing.”

It might shock some people that Tanury, who is Lebanese, jokes so openly about the terrorist look.

“If I’m going to get harassed for it, this is my way of giving it back to society,” Tanury says.

A lot of people have beards, but only a few can take claim to carrying a beard comb with them to keep it in line.

It’s not just his look that makes Tanury such a character. His personality sets him apart. Students can see Tanury saying hello to “his people” as he strolls campus, but not with a friendly wave.

Rather, Tanury lifts his shirt and performs his patented nipple flick or flexes his biceps, which students might be hard pressed to find since Tanury brags that he has never been to the gym.

The nipple flick isn’t entirely all his creation, but he likes it because it makes people happy.

“I saw a comedian do it one time, and I figured if it made me laugh, it would make other people laugh too,” says Tanury.

Tanury is unique in his lighthearted approach to life. Even if he has tests to study for, there is a better chance of seeing him in the Vaughn Courtyard than in the library.

“I have a photographic memory, I don’t need to study,” brags Tanury.

Tanury’s carefree mannerisms along with his non conformist look set him apart from most students, but what makes him a person all his own is his love for his peers, as proven by his 750 UT Facebook friends.

While that number may be inflated because real-world friendship runs deeper than any Facebook list of acquaintances, Tanury says he is truly friends with all of them.

“I like everyone,” claims Tanury.