More than womb-mates

To those who do not know them, sophomores Jonathan and Vanessa Wong appear to be dating. They walk together to class, they are both members of Charter Club and they even appear physically complementary.

But the two are not sweethearts — they are twins.

"We spend so much time together that the first assumption people make is that we're boyfriend and girlfriend," Jonathan said, adding that he sees his twin sister — who lives two entryways away from him in Holder Hall — many times each day.

While the Wong twins view attending the same school as normal, twins at the University are far from ordinary. On a campus replete with unique people, sets of twins are indeed rare — among undergraduates there are fewer than a handful in each class.

But those Princeton students who do have the opportunity to share their college years with a twin view the experience as distinctly positive.

"It's nice to have your best friend on campus," Jenn Kogler '03 said of her twin brother, Jeremy '03, adding that she feels it would be strange if they were not at the same school.

Jeremy echoed his sister's sentiments. "It's normal to have my sister around," he said. "If your twin goes to the same school as you do, I guess it's just icing on the cake."

Though the Kogler twins talk to each other every day, they live in different residential colleges and have different interests. Jenn pole vaults for the track team and is a potential English major, while Jeremy plays volleyball and prefers social science. But they do share a special bond and enjoy helping each other out.

"He'll bring me food if I'm up late or I have an essay to write," Jenn said.

Tyson Knight '03 also said he benefits from having his identical twin, Mack '03, at Princeton.

"I meet twice as many people," he said, adding that he and Mack asked to live in separate dorms and share no classes, but have expanded their social circles by bringing their two groups of friends together.

Sophomores Maisha and Nuriya Robinson have a similar penchant for making each other's lives easier. Each morning, Nuriya — who shops for the clothes that she and her identical twin sister wear — wakes up one hour before class to ensure Maisha is awake and to tell her what matching outfit the two will wear that day.

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"She's the fashion coordinator," said Maisha, who has only two earring holes in each ear compared to Nuriya's three — a slight difference that helps others tell them apart.

But their similarities are much more noticeable. Both are pre-med, participate in the Black Arts Company and volunteer with Community House. Last spring the two started Echoes d' Afrique, an African dance and drum ensemble that now boasts 20 members.

"We're like two sides of the same person," Maisha noted.

"We've never lived life without each other," Nuriya added. "I wonder what it's like to be a singleton."