As college students, (whether it’s at a CUNY, SUNY, private school or out of New York State) we have all had the depressing experience of not being able to afford much more than three items on the dollar menu at a time. Moments like these truly prove that necessity is the mother of an extensive job search. We stroll the halls of Roosevelt Fields or Kings Plaza in our best business attire armed with a customer-friendly smile and a fresh stack of resumes.
What is a resume? It is an organized list of the education, work experience and skills that one possesses. What is it really though, besides a piece of paper written by its owner? Who hasn’t augmented the truth a little? Accidentally opening Microsoft Excel once or twice is about equal to understanding the program, and how it works.
If resumes aren’t the most credible sources of information, what does that say about the unofficial and undocumented CARFAX reports that have become so popular among our generation? Why is everyone so quick to believe everything they hear about a person through social networking or word of mouth?
“You have to know what you’re dealing with so you don’t invest too much into the subject,” said James Cameau, a rising senior at SUNY Old Westbury.
Cameau admitted to regularly seeking out CARFAX reports about girls in whom he may be interested. To him and his friends, such information is considered vital.
“You don’t want to be mocked by a girl,” said the Psychology major who described a scenario where a young woman walking into a room of five guys, and had been intimately involved with three of them. Apparently, it is this type of situation that these reports are created to avoid.
But what is a CARFAX report exactly?
“CARFAX is basically the rundown of the type of girl she is, who she has been with, and what freaky things are known about her, “ continued Cameau, “Basically, how dirty can they get around others and not care.”
In a world where hugs are described as kisses, kisses explained as having been followed by some touching, and simple touching is morphed into sex, we have all been the victim of such “misunderstandings.” Because of this, it is so hard to understand why a girl is whore just because one immature person may say she is. We live in the domino era, where one person follows another and so on. Just look at how quickly planking caught on. In less that 24 hours, the average Twitter timeline went from questions like “WTF is #plankin’?” to “My first attempt at #plankin y’all” tweets-accompanied with pictures, of course.
However, according to Cameau, that is exactly how this system works.
“If everyone knows she’s a hoe, and I’m telling her ‘I love you,’ she could very well be texting the next guy [when we’re together].”
It sounds like these CARFAX reports are used as insurance to protect a man’s pride and reputation while slowly ruining a woman’s reputation. The world we live in is consumed with this double standard. A guy may have had relations with women on campus with numbers going into double digits, but if a girl does the same, her CARFAX reports has a big stamp on the bottom saying ‘Stay Away.’
Thankfully, not all men are regular CARFAX users, including Andrew George a rising senior of Binghamton University.
“People like to talk a lot of s***,” he explained, “You can never base these things on what other people say. You just have to talk to them in the first place.”
Aside from the simple fact that stories get twisted and morphed through this collegiate game of telephone, there is also a story behind the story. If you go up to your guy friend and ask him for Lisa Smith’s CARFAX, he’ll tell you he smashed, but will he tell you that he took her on dates, bought her flowers, and essentially tried to “wife her up?” Who knows?!
In the real world that is college, people definitely stop being polite, but there’s no guarantee that they start getting “real.” There is no Kelly Blue Book or VIN number to gauge the credibility of these reports. Word of mouth hasn’t always been the best way to spread information. History has shown though, it’s a great way to tell stories. That’s essentially what is going on. George, who happens to be a member of MALIK Fraternity, Inc., an organization known for their respect for women, agrees.
“If you really want to get to know someone, you have to talk to them yourself.”
How do you feel about the accuracy of CARFAX? We would love to hear your thoughts, so please feel free to leave a comment!
- The CLEMagazine Team
By: Leslie Anselme
