DigitalCommons@C.O.D.

Tyrcha, Amanda

Carry You

Swope, David

David Swope Reads A Selection From  Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching  bu Mychal Denzel Smith

Morello, John

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 2 Article 23
Spring 5-1-2018
Better Together
John Morello
College of DuPage
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Recommended Citation
Morello, John (2018) "Better Together," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 2 , Article 23.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss2/23
Spring 201825
Better Together 
 Bill Gates once told a group of state governors that support for 
liberal arts education should be cut, and the money given to STEM (Science, 
Technology, Engineering and Math) programs. Vinod Khosla, formerly of Sun 
Microsystems, has said that not much being taught in liberal arts programs 
is relevant to the future. And, Netscape founder Mark Andreessen predict-
ed those who learn the soft skills of liberal arts will end up working in shoe 
stores. As Washington Post education reporter Valerie Strauss put it in a 
March 2016 article, “Trashing the liberal arts seems to have become practi-
cally a sport” (Hartley 208).  If the liberal arts are so useless, why is LinkedIn 
run by Reid Hoffman, a philosophy major? How could Ben Silberman lead 
Pinterest with only a political science degree? And, how did Hewlett-Packard 
survive under Carly Fiorina, with her degree in medieval history?  Good ques-
tions, says Scott Hartley, and he tries to answer them in The Fuzzy and the 
Techie: Why the Liberal Arts will rule the Digital World.  Seeing liberal arts 
majors running tech enterprises seems contradictory. But, if anyone’s going 
to figure out why, it’s Hartley himself; a venture capitalist today, with stops at 
Google and Facebook, and a degree in Political Science. He’s a Fuzzy among 
Techies, the two terms he heard at Stanford to describe the tech-proficient 
and those not. “My education taught me that I wouldn’t be graduating 
with a second-class set of skills to those learned by techies across campus,” 
he writes, “but rather a complementary set of skills…necessary in today’s 
technology driven economy” (7). He and others like him must have found 
encouragement in Apple pioneer Steve Jobs, who said that “technology 
alone is not enough-it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the 
humanities, that yields us the result that makes our heart sing” (7). But, says 
Hartley, getting both parties to the altar has been an uphill battle, and the 
liberal arts have been taking heat from politicians, especially when they think 
there are votes to be won. He reports that Jeb Bush suggested universities 
should warn psych majors that they’ll end up working for Chick-fil-A, and that 
Florida senator Marco Rubio thinks welders make more money than philoso-
phy majors “because the market for Greek philosophers is tight” (208). While
1
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Prairie Light Review 26
that rhetoric may get laughs on the campaign trail, Hartley suggests it’s the 
Fuzzies and not the Techies who’ll have the last laugh. He offers a 2016 Wall 
Street Journal survey of 900 executives, 92% of whom said the soft skills 
Fuzzies possess were “equally important or more important than technical 
skills” (206).
 So, just what are those “soft skills,” and how come the Fuzzies have 
them, and the Techies don’t? Hartley says journalist Fareed Zakaria nailed it 
in his 2015 book In Defense of a Liberal Education. Zakaria claims that the lib-
eral arts “highlights creativity, problem solving, decision making, persuasive 
arguing and management skills” (Hartley 14). Hartley adds a few of his own. 
“The humanities and the social sciences are devoted to the study of human 
nature. The greatest opportunities for innovation are in applying evolving 
technological capabilities…to solve human problems like political corrup-
tion, finding better ways to educate children, helping people live healthier 
and happier lives. Workers with a solid liberal arts education have a strong 
foundation to build on in pursuing these goals” (15). Liberal arts students are 
required to study a broad range of subjects. “In our ever-changing world,” he 
argues, “the demand for intellectual agility, creativity, and the curiosity to ex-
plore new terrain is higher than ever” (26). The development of these skills is 
the reason he says so many employers are hiring liberal arts grads, no matter 
what the tech titans may say. And, while he cites findings published in Liberal 
Education, claiming 74% of employers say a liberal arts education is the best 
way to prepare for success in today’s global economy (28), probably eliciting 
howls of bias, he follows that up with LinkedIn’s 2015 study of the job mar-
ket, which concluded that “liberal arts grads are joining the tech workforce 
more rapidly than technical grads” (28).  
 How could this have happened? It happened, says Hartley, because 
the Fuzzies avoided the specialization trap which ensnared their Techie 
contemporaries. “It is actually in the STEM fields that specialization is more 
of a problem,” he claims, “with the course loads for many degrees leaving 
little room for…pursuit of intellectual passions...” (Hartley 25). And, he allows 
Georgia Nugent, a senior fellow at the Council of Independent Colleges to 
assess the consequences of tech specialization. “It’s a horrible irony,” she 
writes in an article for Fast Company, “that at the very moment the world 
2
The Prairie Light R view, Vol. 40, No. 2 [2018], Art. 23
https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss2/23
Spring 201827
become more complex, we’re encouraging our young people to be highly 
specialized. We are doing a disservice to our young people by telling them 
that life is a straight path” (26).
 So, the Techies have no soft skills, and the Fuzzies lack technical 
chops. Now what? Hartley has an answer: teamwork. He devotes several 
chapters to potential advances in medicine and education if both sides could 
see they’re really just two sides of the same coin. But he singles out the 
importance of collaboration in the area of national security. “Harnessing…
new technologies to combat escalating threats is essential,” he writes, “so 
collaboration between Techies and those with the skills and perspectives of 
both the humanities and social sciences is critical” (Hartley 181). There is a 
case to be made, he argues, for what Fuzzies can add to understanding the 
complexities of conflicts, their causes, and the limits of technology in war. 
And, while he admits high-tech weapons have certainly helped take fallible 
human judgment out of the equation of battlefield conflict, “Fuzzy prowess is 
and will be, critical to waging war” (183).
 The Fuzzy and the Techie can overwhelm the reader with the surveys 
and data it brings to make the case that Fuzzies will thrive in an ever-evolving 
world. And, the subtitle, which predicts they’ll actually rule that world is a bit 
contradictory, given the many examples the author supplies to suggest it’s 
a better world if it’s shared. And, while it’s tempting to embrace Voltaire’s 
view that it’s time to judge a person on the basis of their questions, not their 
answers, it’s Hartley’s view that those who think they have the answers and 
those who constantly question how the answers were arrived at can coexist.
Hartley, Scott. The Fuzzy and the Techie: Why the Liberal Arts Will Rule the  
 Digital World. Houghton Mifflin, 2017.
-John Morello
3
Morell : Better Togethe
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English

Better Together

Cimera, Tricia Marcella

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 2 Article 33
Spring 5-1-2018
Noctuary
Tricia Marcella Cimera
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Cimera, Tricia Marcella (2018) "Noctuary," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 2 , Article 33.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss2/33
Spring 201837
The Noctuary
I go walking in black night
other worldly—
Way lit by moon and street light
leaves clitter clatter
scatter at my feet—
I stop to search
a flower’s sleeping face
pink petals open at my gaze
I am the Queen
of In Between—
 
Sidewalk shines in silver rain
water runs in rivulets
through cracks
I do not step on—
At the house on the corner
a white door opens
someone dead
calls my name from within
my blood red shoes
glide on—
 
An angel statue guards
the street between
dark and light
her terrible face/seeing eyes—
I wave my hand
she falls to stony pieces    
on I walk—
 I am the Queen
Goodnight
Goodnight
-Tricia Marcella Cimera
“The World Ends And I Began”
Alana Sadah
Photography
1
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Noctuary

Morris, Wilda

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 2 Article 46
Spring 5-1-2018
Birth Father
Wilda Morris
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Morris, Wilda (2018) "Birth Father," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 2 , Article 46.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss2/46
Spring 201855
Birth Father
Abandoned at a young age, my birth father
was angry. Handsome. Seductive. Alcoholic.
An abusive husband. His departure was a good loss.
A cleansing, a wake-up call that sent him spinning,
divorce decree in hand. A relief to Mother
who learned again to breathe, smile, sing.
An opening for an eventual second marriage,
giving Sis and me a new dad’s gentle strength
and patient love, a model we needed
before we sought life partners.
 
I found my birth father again years later—
on the Social Security Death Register.
The Internet led me to half-brothers
and their children who brought him to life.
Redeemed. Reformed. A hard-working family man
who never raised a hand against his children?
Spent hours volunteering at the food pantry,
risked hiring men who struggled with addiction.
Penance, perhaps, for the sins of his youth.
Half-brothers told me he never forgot
his two daughters living somewhere in Iowa,
sisters they would likely never meet.
-Wilda Morris
Next Page:
“Storms Over the Prairie”
Francis Keller
Photography
1
Morris: Birth Father
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Birth Father

Guzman, Gabriel

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 40 | Number 2 Article 48
Spring 5-1-2018
Sadly, I Understand
Gabriel Guzman
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Guzman, Gabriel (2018) "Sadly, I Understand," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 40 : No. 2 , Article 48.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol40/iss2/48
Prairie Light Review 58
Sadly, I Understand
“In this day and age” is a cliché
That I thought only old people used.
I thought it meant that you were angry
With how things were going in your life,
Or that the past was somehow better than the present.
In this day and age…What?
Stamps are more expensive?
Your grandchildren don’t call you anymore?
I know that sounds cynical,
But that’s what I really believed.
 
I didn’t really think about it
Until it struck me as odd
That in this day and age
Children are getting gunned down in school
By their classmates, and that
All anyone does is recite
Platitudes and maxims
While parents bury their children.
 
That in this day and age
We can all agree
To disagree
About the worth of human lives,
So that we can carry on
With our daily scheduled programming.
 
I didn’t understand what it meant
Until I realized that today
Right here, right now
At this very waking moment
Tragedy is socially acceptable.
That in this day and age
Shock and grief and outrage
Have been quelled by a numbness
That comes about only when you see
The same headline
Over and over and over and over
And over and over and over
Again.
 
This is not a political stance.
That in this day and age
A cry against senseless violence
Is a political statement and not a plea 
for human life
Is something that I don’t understand.
Dead kids are only an argument now,
and not a fucking wake up call.
I’ll never fully understand why things 
happen
The way they do. I only understand
That it is tolerable to justify
Our hatred against humanity.
-Gabriel Guzman
“Los Angeles Forest Fire”
Jon Ruffolo
Photography
1
Guzman: Sadly, I Understand
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Sadly, I Understand

Daly, Una

Young, Lisa

Administrators: Supporting OER Adoption; ZTC degrees

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 41 | Number 1 Article 1
Fall 12-1-2018
Front Cover
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr
This Artwork is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
(2018) "Front Cover," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 41 : No. 1 , Article 1.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol41/iss1/1
1et al.: Front Cover
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Front Cover

Kotyuk, Ida

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 41 | Number 1 Article 41
Fall 12-1-2018
Barbara's Barn
Ida Kotyuk
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Kotyuk, Ida (2018) "Barbara's Barn," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 41 : No. 1 , Article 41.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol41/iss1/41
Barbara’s Barn
Gone is the hay, water trough, buckets, stalls,
seeds, grains, shovels, pitchforks, brooms; tools
of the farmer. Gone are the sounds: rustle of hay,
creaking boards, stamping, thumps, whinnies, squeaks,
and grunts. Gone are the vocal animals: huffing, snorting,
rubbing noises as animals scratched against posts or rails—
all replaced by one sound.
Homeless cats are the new crop—forsaken, cast aside,
dumped, and ditched. Who knew they come in so many colors:
brown, black and gray blended, orange, cream or buff,
and even patches of black and white—in the oddest places.
She captures each and every lusty lot. Neutered and spayed,
given their shots, and released back on Barbara’s farm.
It has a barn.
The doors are opened just enough for a cat,
not me or you. I’ve seen it too. It is a haven
for lost feline souls each with its story.
See Big Tom with the torn ear, healed now.
That one’s kittens found new homes.
I tease her, “You know the entire county
leaves lost or pregnant cats on your farm.” 
“Bring ‘em on,” she answers. “I have a barn.”
Ida Kotyuk
Fall 2018 Journal .indd   6 1/3/19   4:36 PM
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Kotyuk: Barbara's Barn
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Barbara\u27s Barn

Fortier, Mardelle

The Prairie Light Review
Volume 41 | Number 1 Article 42
Fall 12-1-2018
Moonlight Cocktail
Mardelle Fortier
College of DuPage
Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr
This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@COD. It has been accepted for inclusion in
The Prairie Light Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@COD. For more information, please contact orenick@cod.edu.
Recommended Citation
Fortier, Mardelle (2018) "Moonlight Cocktail," The Prairie Light Review: Vol. 41 : No. 1 , Article 42.
Available at: https://dc.cod.edu/plr/vol41/iss1/42
Moonlight Cocktail
In light smooth as a brandy alexander
I wander a beach drinking in
sea breeze, while over rocks pour waves
from an endless vat. Chilled glasses of air
soothe my summer skin.
From somewhere drift ukulele notes;
they free me to dance with
a stranger, skin creamy as brandy
alexander, words spicy as nutmeg,
arms warm and dangerous as smuggled rum;
ah, memories of safety from storms
among roses and frangipani.
In this evening of soft island aromas
everything comes together magically
And I remember harmonies
so rare in life
but so real.
Mardelle Fortier
Fall 2018 Journal .indd   7 1/3/19   4:36 PM
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Fortier: Moonlight Cocktail
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Carry You

David Swope Reads A Selection From Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching bu Mychal Denzel Smith