Walking from one end of campus to the other can be a long trek, forcing students to pass heavily congested areas such as the Goldfarb Library, the Usdan Student Center and the Shapiro Campus Center. Day after day, you might start to recognize the nameless faces you pass as their presence becomes a part of your daily routine. However, there might be that one person whom you just keep seeing. It seems as though you see this person twice as much as anyone else on campus. Why? Brandeis is filled with twins. Vice President of Student Enrollment Jean Eddy says that in all 10 years she's been at Brandeis, she's seen at least one set of twins per class.

As for the University's stance on twin admissions, Eddy says, "While we are aware that a student may have a twin applying, we really do review each application based on the merits of that individual student." In other words, the University recognizes twins but does not give them an advantage or disadvantage because of that fact.

Some of the twins at Brandeis ended up at school together by chance, while others consciously decided to go to school together.

Annie and Julia Livit '13 hail from the state of Pennsylvania. Both are of similar height and body type and have straight brown hair, but even though they share a physical appearance, they are actually fraternal twins. Yet their strong bond led them to not only apply to the same colleges but also to ultimately decide to room together. When talking to the twins, their complementary personalities become obvious. One begins a sentence and the other immediately jumps in to finish it. So it was not surprising when Julia explained their college decision by saying, "If a school only accepted one, we ruled it out." Annie continued, saying, "There's no better thing than going to school with your family."

The Livits live in a triple with one other roommate, Maya Tydykov '13.

Maya says all three of them decided to live together because they had spoken on Facebook during the housing selection process, and she liked the fact that they shared a similar Russian heritage. The fact that they were twins didn't have a major role in Maya's decision to live with them. Maya says that at the very beginning, she "had trouble [distinguishing] them and avoided calling them by their names, but it soon became clear they were very different." Now she says, "The best part about living with them is they are so close that they barely fight."

Annie says they are very content with this situation because it allows "independence, but at the end of the day it's better. You do your own thing and then you go to your best friend at night." Some hobbies the twins have are related to their different areas of interest. Julia is an avid dancer, and she is involved with popular campus dance groups such as Adagio and Hooked on Tap. In contrast, Annie is involved in intramural sports such as volleyball and tennis.

They seem happy with their living situation and call themselves best friends. However, for next year the Livit twins have decided to share a double room in East. They feel like they have met many new people and gained experiences in their first year, yet they are still most comfortable when sharing the same living space.

The Livit twins feel that their sibling connection is too special to break, but some twins ended up at Brandeis together unintentionally.

Ruthy and Jacklyn Dabah '11, who have big eyes and long, dark hair, go to Brandeis together, although they were also content with the idea of going to separate schools.

"We applied to some of the same schools but also applied to other schools separately. In the end, Brandeis was the first choice for both us and we were okay with coming together," says Jacklyn. "If nothing else, having a twin on campus is like having a little bit of home here at Brandeis."

Nevertheless, unlike the Livit twins, the Dabahs decided it would be best not to room together.

"Both freshman and sophomore years, we lived in the same dorm building but in different rooms. We enjoyed living close to each other but not being roommates," says Ruthy.

Since they have the same group of friends, they still see each other regularly. Also, they are both involved in B'yachad, the Israeli dance group on campus, as well as Adagio. Both are members of the Brandeis Chabad Board. Still, another approach the twins use in order to see each other is to take at least one class together per semester. Since they have similar academic focuses, this is not a problem: Jacklyn is majoring in Psychology with minors in Teacher Education and Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, and Ruthy is majoring in Judaic Studies and Education Studies with a minor in Teacher Education.

A close friend of the twins', Nicole Milhem '13, describes them "as two independent people who pursue separate interests and support each other along the way." Aside from a mole over Jacklyns left eyebrow, they have an almost identical physical appearance. Their personalities, though, differ. Nicole explains that "Ruthy is typically seen as the goofier twin, while Jacky is a little more reserved."

Aidan and Dotan Horowitz '12 are twins who claim to spend 90 percent of every day together. Aidan and Dotan spend a lot of time together because they have the same friends and are both members of the a capella group VoiceMale. In addition, they will be playing the brothers Mario and Luigi in the upcoming musical, Super Mario Brothers.

When asked about how much tme the brothers spend together, Dotan says, "It's not always by choice. We just have many of the same interests and are part of the same groups."

Although the Horowitz twins take many of the same classes, Aidan says that they "try not to sit next to each other in class." He adds, "Being one entity is very frustrating; people constantly call us the twins, the boys, and it's really frustrating. I want to be known as my own person."

Mara and Ilyana Rosenberg '12, two identical twins with curly auburn hair who come from Portland, Ore. also view having a twin on campus as a positive thing.

"There are many benefits about having my twin on campus that I fail to recognize just because this is the life I am used to," says Mara. "The best part about having my twin with me at school is that it has led to some great conversations and hilarious situations," Ilyana adds.



-Abby Kulawitz contributed reporting.