PAGE 8 Book Review Future Shock “Can’t Be Taken With A Grain Of Salt” by Lisa Pavadore Collegian Feature Editor Alvin Toffler, known worldwide for literary works read in over 50 countries, criticizes the social and cultural realm, mostly of the Western World, in the book Future Shock. Some critics say that Toffler’s book will change anyone who reads it. I don’t necessarily believe that after reading it, one would change. However, Future Shock is a thought-provoking piece, and at times creates a whole new world, one much colder and im- Avoid The by Patty Altieri- Collegian Contributing Writer Access to a wide variety of materials can make the difference between a good term paper and one that is mediocre. Complaints are made daily about the limited resources available here in Behrend’s library. This is nothing. What few students realize is that our library is a small part of the whole Penn State library network. Inter-Library Loan (ILL) makes these materials accessible at no cost to you, the borrower. Through ILL, books from any of the commonwealth campuses or University Park libraries system may be borrowed through ABC Celebrates Black Achievement by Gregory Goldsmith Collegian Staff Writer The Association of Black Col legians (ABC) kicked off its an nual “Black Cultural Festival” with a Red, Black, and Green Day. The color red is a symbol of the blood that was lost by blacks in the struggle for equality, freedom and peace. Black sym bolizes the color of the skin and green represents the original native land of black people— Africa. As a part of the Black Cultural Festival, the Association of Black Collegians viewed a film entitled A Tale of O. It was presented to them by Charles Pittman, a former Penn-State All-Star Foot ball Player and Alumnus. The film featured relationships bet ween blacks and whites. A discus- sion period and ‘meet-the speaker’ reception followed. In order to celebrate the con tributions that blacks have made in the arts, Parris Baker, a local play director, poet and choreographer, came to Behrend to present a one-man skit that viewed the hardships and hangups of blacks. Appearing with him, was the Erie Bayfront Ballet. FEATURE personal from the world we know. At the start, I thought Future Shock would be another 1984, by George Orwell. But, where Orwell discusses our future through a dramatic narrative, Toffler describes in depth what will hap pen to the people of our society if we do not cope with a future of vast and mind-boggling rate of change. Toffler terms the inability to cope with much change at such a staggering rate, future shock. The book is divided into six parts, each dealing with a facet of our society changing too fast for Term Paper Blues ILL, provided that the source has been properly verified (proof that the book exists or what work you found the title in.) Good sources of verification are book reviews, bibliographies, and Books in Print. Reference books or books in the Rare Book room will not be loaned. Journal articles can also be ob tained through ILL. It’s impor tant to know that the journal itself cannot be borrowed. A xerox copy of the specific article re quested will be sent. The copy is yours to keep. Perhaps you just want to browse through a par ticular journal to see if it has what you need. You can request a copy In conjunction with the Black Cultural Festival, the ABC is sponsoring an essay contest for area high school students. Any student that would like to enter the contest should submit one essay to his or her English teacher on the topic of Black Achieve ment. The teacher should then send the essay to Gregory Goldsmith, Penn State-Behrend College, Station Rd. Box 505, Erie, PA 16563. Entries must be postmarked no later than Feb. 28. There will be two winners. One from the 9-10 grade level and another from the 11-12 grade level. Each winner will receive a $25 savings bond and plaque. For more details call Goldsmith at 898-6570 or 898-6595. continued on page 10 Johnny Arnone's ITALIAN DELICATESSEN 2907 BUFFALO RD., WESLEYVILLE. PA. Homemade Pepperoni Bread Finest * Cold Cuts * Cheese & Olives * Subs CLOSED MONDAY’S PHONE (814) 898-2917 THE COLLEGIAN us to keep up with. Not only does Toffler describe-almost wam-us of our inevitable peril, he does not explain how to avoid future shock until the last part of the book. While it is interesting, Toffler explains many spects of future shock in a long-winded way, and cites several examples that could have been eliminated. A bit ver bose, maybe, but I believe when Toffler first wrote the book (15 years ago) it would have been more difficult to convince his au dience, thus he provides many examples. of the table of contents. If you work better under pressure and wait until the end of the semester to write your paper, you will not have enough time to order materials through ILL. It takes five to ten days to get the materials requested, even longer late in the semester when requests are the heaviest. Use LIAS to find the most up to-date materials in the Penn State system. When you begin your search, make sure that you are in the “LIB ALL” mode. Then you are ready to search by title, author, subject or call number. All of the journal holdings for Pattee (the main library at U.P.) are on LIAS. Once you have located the book you want, check its status. Type in “status” and press return. A screen will appear that tells you whether or not the book is available. In case LIAS is down or in use, you can use the COM Catalog for holdings at Pattee on microfilm. For journals, you can again use th COM Catalog or the journal holdings books behind the circula tion desk. The next step is very important: filling out the necessary form, which can be obtained at the cir culation desk. They must be filled out completely and correctly in order to be processed. If not, it could mean a delay of days. The student assistants or library staff will help you fill them out. Direct any questions to Patti Mrozowski who handles all of Behrend’s ILL business. You can still procrastinate. Order the materials now, and write the paper the night before it is due. In our supposed future, which can be read in less than 500 pages, I see that we will abandon die no tions of long-term friendship, owning a home, or even raising our own children. Toffler spends a great deal of time discussing transiency. While Americans do tend to move from home to home a lot more now, and though families are getting smaller, I find it impossible to be human without needing the stability and permanence of hav ing a family and a home. In fact, the section I find most interesting deals with the breakdown of the family. According to Toffler, parents will not raise their own children, but will pursue careers and allow their children to be raised by pro fessional families. Far-fetched? Yes. Impossible? Maybe. A very possible and.helpful way of dealing with future shock is through grouping people who are MARCH 1,1985 going through the same crises or life changes. We do have group therapy today for those dealing with alcohol and drug abuse, as well as other mental and emo tional problems, but Toffler feels that passing through even what we term “normal” life phases such as moving, divorce, and children marrying can be coped with better through group discussion. In dividual therapy will also be more widely avaialable in the future. I have found Future Shock to be stimulating, and I encourage people to read it. This book can be a rude awakening for those avoiding the future, and it can’t be taken with a grain of salt. At the least, Toffler will challenge your values and morals, and force you to possibly recon sider any of your deeply rooted beliefs. At most, you may change your ideas, or begin to wonder if we . are really as in control of our society and future as we believe.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers