Ryback: pre-lav The Michigan Daily Vto k AP Photo MURIEL HUMPHREY was sworn in yesterday as U.S. Senator from Minnesota, officially assuming the legislative duties of her late husband Hubert and becoming th Senate's first woman member in five years. In this reenactment, Vice President Walter Mondale administers the oath of office to Ms. Humphrey, while Senator Wendell Anderson (D-Minn.) looks on. Ms. Humphrey has been assigned to the Foreign Relations and Governmental Affairs committees. Carter asks Congress to grant (Continued from Page 1) determined to be a pre-law major. To his family and friends, this made perfect sense. His father, a success- ful attorney, had long encouraged young Tim to follow in his footsteps and join the family firm. At the age of 25, he would leave law school and step right into all the comforts and. luxuries of an upper middle class lifestyle. Fate intervened, however, and to the shock and amazement of his family, Tim switched his major from pre-law to medieval German litera- ture. It came in the form of a class entitled "Icelandic Saga", taught by Professor Thompson, head of the German Department. Tim, who was already an avid follower of Don Quixote, found medieval literature to be the inspiration he was looking for. Immediately, he plunged himself into the stories, totally immersing himself in the adventures and. ex- ploits of those early explorers. HIS PARENTS did not share this excitement, though. When they re- alized that their son was serious about his change of majors, they adamantly opposed his plans. What practical purpose could there be for such a degree? How could "their son-the-Viking" pay his bills and provide for his existence? Tim also wondered how his degree could be applied to the present world. "After all," he said, "getting a PhD in medieval literature is like commit- ting academic suicide. I'm just not scholarly enough to sit back and read the literature and not do something about it." It was on -a hiking trip with his older brother Eric that Tim found the practical application he had been looking for. To make the trip more interesting, Tim placed himself in the role of a medieval knight, trying to view the world and experience things as the knight would. GRADUALLY, his obsession with Icelandic literature led to his first major expedition, a search for Thompson Aarments furnished eficiencies 1 and 2 bedroom apartments available for Fall 1978 occupancy Located of corner of William and Thompson call 665-2289 mythical Vinland, as Leif Ericson himself might have done. After a year and a half of preparation, and financed by a book about his hiking trip, Tim set sail down the coast of Maine in a replica Viking ship. With his brothers, Kris and Eric, he lived the life of an adventurous Viking, until near-disaster hurled him back into the twentieth century. Caught in a squall halfway through the trip, the three brothers were swept from their boat by a twelve-- foot wave and plunged into the icy, shark-infested waters of the North Atlantic. They were rescued just minutes before succumbing to the death-grip of the elements. After the three brothers returned to their Belleville home, everyone assumed that Tim's exploring days were over. His parents, and friends urged him to get a job, and settle down to a normal way of life. So Tim Ryback started doing all the things that sane 22-year-olds do: drink beer,. shoot pool and look for a job. It looked like Tim was back in the twentieth century for good. A SMALL PART of his spirit refused to die, though. Tim's favorite quote, a passage from The Man of LaMancha, whirled in his mind: "Too much sanity may be madness, and the maddest of all: to see things as they are and not as they should be." This small voice renewed his ob- session with the Vikings, and three weeks later, Tim wasback in his boat, searching for the mystical Vinland. He never found a physical Vinland, but he found within himself a special feeling. a sense of satisfaction that f-Tuesday, February 7, 1978-Page 9 zighthood what he was doing was just right for him. In the fall of 1977, Tim became'a teaching fellow in the German De- partment, with a new goal set in his mind: a trek following the route of. the first Crusade from Grmany to the Holy Land. Wanting to be as authen- tic as possible, Tim scoured the country looking for a medieyal suit of armor, which he finally uncovered in a camera store in Denver, Colorado. As the knight-in-charge, Tim will wear the 65-pound suit during they journey, which will begin in Rotheni burg, Germany in August. THIS ADVENTURE will take him through Yugoslavia, A l b a n i a, Greece, Turkey, Syria and, in the end, to Jerusalem for Christmas. When his crusade is over, Tim already has plans for another e ploit: a trip following the trades routes of Marco Polo to China. And after that, well, Tim doesn't know for sure. His mother once asked him if he would always be searching for something. Tim thinks he will. benefits to Pvt. Slovik s widow WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Carter said yesterday he has asked several congressmen to introduce a bill to give life insurance benefits to the widow of Pvt. Eddie Slovik, the only American soldier shot for deser- tion during World War II. During a White House reception for about 350 Polish-Americans, Carter said he decided he did not have the authority himself to grant the bene- fits to Ms. Antoinette Slovik, now in her early 60s. A WHITE HOUSE statement after Carter's remarks yesterday said the President's decision "in no way condones'the act of desertion. Rather it is a response to the unique nature of the situation and to Mrs. Slovik's personal plight. "This case differs from all others, including those in which servicemen died by causes other than execution while in desertion status," the state- ment said. "The President does not believe that special legislation would be appropriate in such other cases." Slovik was executed by a firing squad in a French village on Jan. 31, 1945. Six months ago, the Army upheld that execution as legal, and dismissed Ms. Slovik's petition for $70,000, which includes Slovik's $10,- 000 National Service Life Insurance policy plus interest. SLOVIK'S widow contended the Army made errors in' the court- martial process and unjustly exe- 'cuted her husband to set an example for other potential deserters. The White House said Carter made the decision after a "personal ap- peal" from Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd, (D-W. Va.). The President said he had con- ferred with the Justice Department and decided he had no independent. authority to grant the benefits. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), has introduced in the House a bill, giving Ms. Slovik the benefits. It has not yet been introduced in the Senate. Under current law, survivors of servicemen who deserted do not receive life insurance benefits. "You know I'm broke. I've been trying to get help from the state, but they are so slow. I didn't know what I was going to do," Ms. Slovik said in a telephone interview after learning about the decision. U ranked third in higher education poll (Continued from Page 1) Gourman said. Gourman, who is backed by publish- ers National Education Standards, de- cided to do the study because he "has always been interested in the assess- ment of higher education." He added he makes his assessment standards from the compiled "empirical date." "My report is not gossip," he said. Gourman said he has "no axe to grind with any of the schools." "I'm in- terested in students and I want to see them get a good education. I'm trying End near n strik e (Continued from Page 1) was - only tentative, pending approval by the bargaining council and the UMW's rank and file. Horvitz also thanked West Virginia Gov. Jay Rockefeller for his "protrac- ted efforts" in assisting the negotiations. Rockefeller made an unexpected ap- pearance at the news conference and put in a pitch for ratification of the con- tract. He said the proposed terms meet the "human needs" of union members, thousands of whom live in his state. The statements by Horvitz, Miller and Rockefeller appeared to be the first push by officials to win ratification of the tentative contract. In a statement, Miller labeled the proposals "by far the best agreement negotiated" in any major industry in the past two years. to find quality in higher education and I'm determined to find it," he said. DIRECTOR OF University Informa- tion Services Joel Berger said it would be hard to comment on the ranking not having seen a longer report. "Before tooting the horn, we want to find out if it's a good survey. But sure, I'd love to say by God, we're as good as we knew we were." Assistant to the Vice-president for Academic Affairs Edward Dougherty said, "We obviously can't comment at this time not having seen the report." M E .. n LR 629 EAST UNIVERSITY SAK-IN-A -SACK BUY 2 Get HOMMOS FREE The TI-57. The super slide-rule that'll get you into programming... fast and easy. Even if you've never programmed before. h 1 . A t e.4 rt a rt N" a. MARSHALL'S 8 Pack 12 oz. cans Now thru Sunday For the student who re- quires slide-rule functions, the TI-57 delivers an exceptional combination of advanced mathematical and statistical capabilities. From functions such as trig, logs, powers, roots and reciprocals...to mean, var- iance, standard deviation and much more. And as long as you're in the market for a super slide- simply means giving it a logical set of instructions for accom- plishing what you want it to do. 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