Pennsylvania State University at Capitol Campus
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Volume 16, No. 1
Common-Wealth of Data on Campus
Courtesy of The Capitol Campus Rela
tions Office.
Capitol Campus has been designated
as the state's official data center under
an Executive Order signed by Governor
Dick Thornburgh. The Center will be
responsible for making accessible to the
public and to all state agencies popu
lation data and other statistical inform
ation that is gathered by the U.S.
Bureau of the Census.
In establishing the Center at Capitol
Campus, Pennsylvania became the 42nd
state to set up a data center under the
State Data Center Program, which was
begun in 1978 by the U.S. Census
Bureau.
The idea behind the program, ac
cording to Robert W. Surridge, director
of the Center at Capitol Campus, is to
make accessible the vast amount of data
that is collected by the federal census.
This data, he said, can be used by
researchers, by state and local govern
ment agencies, urban and regional plan
ners, businesses and others.
Prior to the establishment of the
state data centers, people interested in
obtaining census data were generally
limited to printed reports produced by
the Census Bureau. The reports that
they received were extracts that the
bureau had compiled from the compre-
The Dope On Drugs
Presented in the public interest by
the Department of Health Services:
Jean Kresge, R.N. and Bonnie Petrosino,
R.N.
Recently, attention has been focused
by the press on the use of "look-a-like"
drugs. These tablets are designed to
mock amphetamines and barbiturates,
but contain legal substances. It appears
that Lewistown, Pennsylvania is the
central point for their manufacture and
distribution.
"Look-a-likes" are also known as:
"uppers," "downers," "dexies," "yellow
jackets," "black beauties," "speed,"
"christmas trees," "blues and clears,"
and "speed balls."
The "look-a-like" phenomena has
been a great source of frustration for
legislators and health care professionals
given the unpredictability of their
pharmacological reactions. Thirteen
states have already banned the manu
facture and distribution of these drugs.
Pennsylvania is one of many more states
conducting an all-out effort in the state
legislature to ban their use.
Facts & Figures
hensive census data. "What the user
received," Surridge said, "was just a
portion of the data that was collected."
Citing the 1970 Census as an ex
ample, Surridge noted that at the city
block level the Census Bureau tabulated
300 pieces of information. However, the
printed census reports listed only 24
pieces of information. "The rest of the
information is accessible to the public on
computer files, but many people do not
know that the information is available,"
Surridge said. "At the State Data
Center, the computer summary tapes
and printed reports from the 1960, 1970,
and 1980 census will be available."
State government, businesses, local
government, researchers and others
should benefit directly from the Center,
Surridge said. By providing up-to-date
and detailed information regarding cen
sus and other matters, the Center should
lead to improved research.. administra
tion, planning and decision making, he
noted.
In addition to the well-known Census
of Population and Housing, the Center
will have available reproducible metro
politan map series, standardized reports
for any geographic areas in the state,
and the census reports for manufactur
ing, government, retail trade and agri
culture.
The Center was established at Cap
itol Campus under a cooperative agree
ment involving the U.S. Bureau of the
WHAT ARE LOOK-A-LIKES AND
WHY MAY THEY BE SO
DANGEROUS? Basic ingredients of
"look-a-likes" are generally ephedrine,
phenylpropanolamine (PPL) and/or caf
feine. Taken in controlled doses under a
physician's directiori there's likely to be
little harm and even some temporary
therapeutic effects for sufferers of aller
gies, runny noses from colds, and post
nasal drip. Even under controlled use,
adverse reactions to these drugs include,
but are not limited to: nervousness,
elevated blood pressure, insomnia, rest
lessness, drowsiness and poor motor
coordination. The dangers of "look-a
like" drugs are as follows:
1) Synergistic or overdose effects are
the adverse physical reactions of mixing
any combination of caffeine, ephedrine
and PPL. These effects are incalculable
prior to actual usage, yet may frequently
lead to such life-threatening conditions
as stroke, heart stoppage, kidney failure,
respiratory failure, and convulsiohs.
2) Prolonged use of any of these
substances can lead to such conditions
as: Chronic paranoia, collapsed veins and
arteries leading to pre-stroke conditions,
... continued on Page 5
"All the news that fits we print"
Census, the state government and Penn
State. Capitol Campus was selected as
the site for the Center for a number of
reasons, Surridge said. "Capitol's prox
imity to the state capitol was one factor,"
he said. Faculty and students in the
Graduate Program in Urban and Re
gional Planning also have experienced
working the census data and other
statistical information through their
academic responsibilities and involve
ment with the Institute of State and
Regional Affairs. Located at Capitol, the
Institute uses the resources of the
campus in public service projects, ex
plained Surridge, who•is a lecturer in the
planning program and .a planning analyst
with the Institute. Through the Planning
Program and the Institute, faculty have
assisted federal, state and regional
agencies with research and policy plan
ning, have offered program advice to
public officials and industry and have
conducted training programs, confer
ences, seminars and workshops.
Under the agreement establishing
the Center, the Census Bureau will
provide the State Data Center with
census data and other statistical infor
mation. A three-member staff at Capitol
is responsible for establishing and main
taining the program that will make the
information available to those who re
quest it. The state is providing . initial
funding for the program, which is being
The social life at Capitol Campus is really looking up. For more, see story on
page 2.
28 January 1982
"Users of the Center's services will
pay for them at cost," Surridge ex
plained. All state agencies are required
to use the center as their source of
census data, under the Executive Order
signed by the governor, he noted.
By having all state agencies use the
Center as their primary census statistic
al resource, state government should
reduce the possibility of costly and
unnecessary duplication of data
collection and processing by the differ
ent agencies.
In addition to the Center at Capitol
Campus, the State Data Center Program
will include regional data centers which
will be located throughout the state.
"These centers, which will be at li
braries, planning agencies and college
campuses, will have available much of
the information on file at the Capitol
Center," Surridge said. "This statewide
network will extend access to and use of
statistical resources at the local level and
more directly meet local needs." The
State Data Center is in the process of
identifying and inviting agencies and
institutions to become affiliate centers.
The majority of these centers
Although the Center does not yet
have on hand all the information needed
to offer full Data Center services, it has
much of the essential data it needs and
has been processing requests for infor
mation since September.
READER Photo By Steve Myers
Photo Club