Issue 8 • Vol. 101
Loyola University New Orleans • Since 1923
April 12, 2024
100 Years of
Top from left to right: Sunny Bedford and Annabelle Bedford Laci Barrow/The Maroon Bottom left to right: Maxwell Mendez and Matthew Mendez Maleigh Crespo/The Maroon
Top from left to right: August Bay and Em Bay Violet Bucaro/The Maroon Bottom from left to right: Allison Powell and Margaret Powell Courtesy of Margaret Powell
Twins (and triplets) conquer college By Violet Bucaro vabucaro@my.loyno.edu
Before choosing a university, identical twins August and Em Bay wanted to flee New Orleans. They presumed they’d choose different universities, but they separately fell in love with Loyola without disclosing it to one another. August Bay, a religious studies freshman, and Em Bay, a sociology freshman, are mirror twins. They have several mirrored features including opposite dominant hands. They were hesitant that it would be difficult to find themselves apart from one another. “A large part about being a twin is you
lose a large part of identity,” Em Bay said. Challenges come with attending college with your twin. August Bay said they can question if they are in an independent stage of life and development into adulthood. “Sometimes I am scared I am not branching out far enough because I still have a safety net with me,” August Bay said. Though it is a fright night at times, they are thankful for it. They appreciate the support they receive from each other, like a built-in best friend they can count on. “When I am getting stressed out they are the first one to call it, before I can,” August Bay said. It is common for students and faculty
to confuse them with one another. Depending on the conversation, they may go along with it, August Bay said. People have assumed they were the same person. “Ms. Karen, who works in the OR, found out we were twins today [and] she was very shell shocked,” August Bay said. “It is a weekly occurrence.” Several sets of twins on Loyola’s campus have a shared experience of finding independence apart from one another, despite going to the same college. Margaret Powell is a sophomore double majoring in mass communication and English, and her fraternal twin, Allison Powell, is
a Tulane student double majoring in neuroscience and environmental science. They decided not to go to the same college for multiple reasons, Margaret Powell said. “We have been connected to each other for our entire lives and we wanted to see what it was like without each other,” Margaret Powell said. Margaret Powell loves living close to her twin and they hang out often, she said. People sometimes confuse their names with one another; however, people know them by face.
See TWINS, page 3