Dazed But Unfazed

Although Rhew serves as a source of emotional strength for others, he regrets having to neglect his physical activity since coming to Harvard.

Rhew ran track and played tennis in high school. He says he misses team sports, although he participates in intramurals whenever he can. To the amazement of his roommates, Rhew went out for the Winthrop tackle football team for the first time this year.

"It's incredible that he went out to play," says roommate Kevin R. Kozak '92, who clearly remembers Rhew's virgin tackle. "He got flattened. He got up dazed."

But Rhew wasn't deterred. Kozak says that when friends asked if Rhew was okay, the inexperienced football player got up and requested that the ball be passed to him again.

"I got creamed a couple of times," Rhew admits.

Rhew tries to make up for the absence of structured sports in his life in other ways.

"He bought a hockey stick for some reason," says roommate Michael Willis '92. "He doesn't play hockey. He just takes the stick and knocks a metal can against the wall and wakes up our neighbors."

Clearly, Rhew likes to do things his own way, as his overall style of organization demonstrates. For example, Rhew keeps his clothes organized in three different drawers: "clean," "medium-clean," and "not so-clean."

"He's untidy, but he's organized," Misra says. "For disorganized people, he's a great boon."

"His messes wouldn't make sense to everyone else, but he knows exactly where everything is," Kathy Rhew explains.

She says her brother's unique style drove their mother crazy when they were growing up in suburban Detroit. "To her, his room looked like had his pile of dirty clothes and his pile of neat clothes."

'Bonkers About the Environment'

Rhew's current room is designed to express his longstanding love of nature and concern for the environment.

Rhew's single bedroom in the suite is decorated with nature posters, and the books lying around have titles such as Ecotopia, In The Rainforest, Weather, and How to S--- In The Woods.