Wednesday, April 2, 1969 Against The philosopher athlete on 3.1 'worth of coffee By DAVE BEEMON Fred Rodney looks like any ordinary "jock." A senior on the gymnastics team, he stepped into the 'Jug' Wearing his 'M' jacket. His neck was kind of large; his hair clipped short. We sat down for the interview and he told me he was a physical education major. I immediately glanced at his hands, to see if there were any calluses from basket weaving. Three hours and five cups of coffee later my wall of prejudice had been torn down. We had talked about girls, love, life, the uni- verse, God; the need for change in our society. As Rodney poured out his thoughts, his achievements in gymnas- tics (a 3rd place in the NCAA vaulting finals, two years ago) seemed kind of superficial. His Montreal background seemed irrelevant. He represented more than that. He wanted to talk about more than that. In one night he destroyed my stereotyped image of the physical edu- cation major.' Rodney talked seriously about his education. "It's true t h a t, if you wanted to, you could make a physical education a Mickey Mouse major. However, too many people get involved with just one aspect of the university; either studies or atletics. I'm not limiting myself.to lether, and I've managed to get a richer knowledge of what life's all about. "I SPEND a lot of time thinking about philosophy and possible answers to our existence. I like to explore all the possibilities. Too many people have limited points of view." "For instance, when I say I'm from Canada, people immediate- ly think of dogsleds and assume that I play hockey. It's amazing how many people would believe me if I told them I'm on an ice fishing scholarship. You run into people all the time, who have prejudices against athletes, but you learn to cope with it. It's just another case of people with restricted points of view." We were on our third cup of coffee now, and Rodney was starting to open the throttle. He was talking about the limitations of our society, and getting more eloquent all the time. "Sociey today has too many prescribed rituals and definitions which force people to act with inhibitions. Human expression is so restricted today. This is why there is such a need for booze and pot." "I LOOK VERY ADVERSELY to marriage, not'that it's a bad institution, but because there are so many ill matched people, who got together at the wrong time. Too many people get married simply be- cause they feel they have to, by a certain age. I'd like to take the time to find my emotional and physical conpatibilities before I jump into anything. Too much emphasis pis placed on the institution itself. The relationship is what's important." By 12:30 Rodney was in high gear, pausing only to grin at the waitress, and request another re-' fill. He talked about the future - and how things would be drasti- cally different. "This is an age of dynamic change, but nothing is really in- novative today. There is a need *.. for change and I think that we're approaching a sort of dark age. There will be a revolution which# is going to last for a long time. "After this dark age, however, a real explosion will take plac'e.; There will be a renaissance; some- thing totally new. Try to imagine something that will surpass nue-> lear power. Try to imagine t h e f. human body, completely decom- . posed and put together again. Try> to imagine -human expression completely unrestricted, honest and used to its fullest." "AFTER THIS RENAISSANCE, life may take place in a dimen3 sion inconceivable to us now. Perhaps there will be an existance through light. Anything is possible. Human beings are so limited by their senses. The highest form of human accomplishments may be achieved by machines." As the night grew late, and our waitress grew less friendly, it became evident that Rodney had indeed received a solid liberal edu- cation. He threw Sarte, Voltaire, and Freud at me. He talked about God.E "I feel that there is a God playing with dice. I don't believe in a planned universe. The world is a product of accidents. God is like Santa Clause; he is a defense mechanism for that which is unknown, or beyond. People are afraid of the unknown, so they label it some- thing which is known." He tied gymnastics into his philosophy. "I don't want to .live an ordered life. Gymnastics has'helped me to have an open mind, by not preoccupying me with merely being trained to fit into our society. The sport has helped me to relate to other modes of existence." IT WAS OBVIOUS that Rodney had thought about other ways of life; alternatives to our society. Another' thing was also evident. He loved gymnastics. "I don't know what I'll be doing in my future. I'd like to go fur- ther in gymnastics. I don't feel that I've peaked out yet, and I'd- like to go to the '72' Olympics." Rodney wants to travel; he doesn't want to be tied down. He doesn't worry about his future, as long as he can view the world with an open. mind. HIe resents the "dumb athlete" stereotype. Obviously, he doesn't fit it. WE WERE KICKED OUT OF the 'Jug' at 2 a.m., having spent a total of 3,1 cents; the wrath of the management upon us. It was snowing and Rodney buttoned up his 'M' jacket. I buttoned my World* War II Army tank coat. As he walked away he suggested that I. "Come down to the gym some time and put on some shorts." He would: teach me a trick or two. As I walked back to my apartment, slightly' dazed, I figured he was probably right. He must, indeed, have an array of tricks up his sleeve. why cart all those. clothes home? Call Greene's Cleaners today! We'll deliver a storage bo*- Fill it with your winter garments- We'll pick it up-clean your garments- Mothproof them and C o . sa, .a :.n eu.... - 4 -J naA :rJ -:: THE MICHIGAN DAILY Pge Sev l 1,+. W olerineco Y--1VY 6 o Urinesecon b aseman .-.,.*: .opes for future pro career By DAV E HANNEl~S w as not smashing head in the I fall e ask% :Y n 'r{r lf i ,m} 'r7'sl~t 6? ;.'{t r. f *¢Y{;r }rn:f} f0 9: r ryr' ?,{yr a y.4a ,r' ,, yyi } ,rN.ys~ atf ; r~y~rif, +t t3 .# f a ,{,r r .Y . ..!{ .,;{t TF~f ^r{, y'' # f }' ISL h f5ri kf::,'vj} Vp tr 4 3i v,>t vy" r x r.. f ,. jfasf C:, 't S '° Y~s.~ r:7t ~fY SI,.,+x#F'..rx:r,'} f }r'1 }.s~'*J{ ixa',af }" 5,"t;,i ~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ; ;ii...: . ~3'r. 5 /^y /'(~ -Daily-Andy Sacks H AD COACH 'BO' SCHEMBECHLER talks things over with his top three quarterback prospects juniors Don Moorhead, Bill Berutti, and Jim Be tts in yesterday's initial drill of the spring. It was the first chance the new coach has had to see his entire squad on the practice field. Gridders open I By CHRIS TERAS There were no bands, no scream- ing throngs, and no glory for the Michigan football team yesterday. Coach Bo Schembechler led his charges thru the first of 20 prac- tice sessions to be held between April 1st and May 6 with time out for exams. When questioned about the squad's r e t u r n i n g lettermen, Schembechler said, "There's ten of them over there," as. he humor- ously pointed to a group of last season's seniors who had "return- ed" to watch the workout. Among them was Ron Johnson. The 1968 captain is headed for a pro career with the NFL Cleveland Browns.I The former tailback commented on his contacts with the 'new coaching staff. "The relationship between the coaches and players seems closer than before. I've noticed that the coaches are more enthousiastic, too. I think one rea- son is that they're generally closer in age, but just the fact that they're new means a lot." Johnson also noted how the staff would even try to participate in conditioning exercises like play- ing basketball, to try to become closer to the men they will be coaching this season. Schembechler, as head of the operation, was too busy to say much about his team, but did have a few words to say. "Our of- fensive set-up will depend on who we play at fullback." 76ers win to stay alive; NHL playoffs open today practiece Concerning a replacement for Johnson, Schembechler stated, "We have about four boys who have the best chance right now to play tailback. John Gabler, the flanker last year is one. Others are Glenn Doughty, Lance Scheffler, IMTrack Six new records were set last night as Huber House easily won the Residence Hall indoor track championship at Y o s t Field House. Five old track re- cords were shattered, and a mark was set in a new event, the '70 yard high hurdles for future quaddies to shoot at. The new records are: Pole Vault - Don Willis (Scott House), 12'-0"; High jump - Mike Katauskus (Michigan House), 6'-