When most students leave home for college, one of the most important issues on their minds is learning to get along without family close by. But for one small group, loosening family ties is a chance for redefinition. This group at Tufts is the multiples - the unique part of the population that can claim to be a twin.
The vast majority of multiples on campus go to a different school than their twins. Sophomore Mike Stanton-Geddes says that he purposely didn't go to the same school as his twin, who attends Amherst.
"Our personalities are just too different," he said.
According to Stanton-Geddes, he and his brother were always known as "the twins" in high school. Now that they are in different schools, the nickname has vanished.
Sophomore Taiwo Oshodi says that she is more of an individual at college than in high school because she and her sister go to different schools. Her twin attends Northeastern.
"She is more of a sister rather than 'the twins' as we were in high school," Oshodi said.
For others, going to the same school was just a matter of fact. Jon and David Wallace, twin brothers who are also fraternity brothers at Delta Tau Delta, explain that they hardly even planned being at Tufts, let alone being at any school together. Still, as it turns out, being identical twins on a smallish campus has its perks. They say they don't want to give too much away, but with a similar haircut and late night swap of clothes, its funny what can occur.
Sophomores Hussa and Hassa Blake also see the humor in being constantly mistaken for each other.
"Just last week someone was looking for Hussa and said [to me], 'I take it your busy, I know we have to talk, we'll talk later," Hassa Blake said.
Stanton-Gedde's twin brother was accosted in Espresso's when a friend of Michael's plopped down on his lap and started talking to him. When Michael's brother said he did not know who she was, the girl started crying.
Oshodi claims that having her twin sister nearby is a great experience, and certainly very helpful.
"There is always someone to confide in, support me," Oshodi said. "I can call her at four in the morning to talk, and if I have a test and need to be woken up, she will be willing to wake up at six and make sure I am doing my work. She knows if I'm stressed."
And despite being identical on the outside, most twins claim to have completely different personalities. Friends of the Blake sisters say that one is typically calm, while the other is more spunky, but together they are both crazy.
"I used to not be able to distinguish them, but now I can," freshman Mike Don said of his friends, the Stanton-Geddes brothers. "They are similar, but definitely have different personalities."
Still, not everyone can always tell identical twins apart.
"My mom still confuses us," Oshodi said. "Sometimes my mom will even call me and call me my sister's name!"
The Blake sisters say their parents call them "big twin" and "little twin" and often do not attempt to differentiate, instead resorting to just calling them both "Hassa" all the time.
And as far as "twin-myths" go, these siblings have heard the whole gamut of questions, ranging from "Do you two have the same brain? And If I pinch you will the other one feel it?" to " "Since you are so close with your twin, how will you have time for me?"
According to Hassa Blake, being a twin is a very special bond, but also leads to some generalization from non-multiples.
"We are sometimes seen as mutations and as 'different,'" she said. "People see us as one person."
