Spotlight: TIna and Chris Alexander ‘11
By Emma Fidel, The Dartmouth Staff
Published on Friday, May 8, 2009
So, did you always plan to go to the same college?
Chris: We really didn't try to end up at the same place. We just applied to the schools that we liked.
Tina: We both knew that Dartmouth was our number one. We actually had an older brother who went here --
C: He was an '07 --
T: So I fell in love with the campus when I came up for his last football game. Gorgeous fall time – they just suck you in.
Were you at all worried about choosing the same school?
T: Not worried, just excited. I figured this campus is small, but big enough that if I didn't want to hang out with him all the time, I didn't have to. But I didn't realize we would have the same practice schedule. And that the track team eats together. And that we'd be in the same building. So, I saw a lot of him freshman year.
C: Not as much now.
T: Not as much now because he lives in Mid-Mass and I live at Tri-Delt. And we practice at different times. So I hardly ever see you now. No, but I don't think it was too much of a concern.
How do you think your experience would have been different if you hadn't gone to the same school?
C: I think we probably wouldn't be as close, nor would we be the same type of people. I'm pretty sure our relationship would be a little more distant because she'd have a completely different college experience, different education, different friends, different lifestyle than I would have had. And vice versa.
T: Freshman year, I feel like for a lot of people here at least, it's like, "Oh, I really don't have anyone in my family to watch over me or do anything." So you can completely transform who you want to be. I guess we still could do the same but it would just be different, because he knows where we come from, we wouldn't be fooling anybody. It kept me grounded.
C: I don't know, I definitely would be a different person. It would have been like we were alone. We've never actually been separated for an extended period, so I don't even know how that is. It would almost feel like I was no longer at home or no longer united with someone else that shares a common background, common bonds.
Is being here together ever problematic?
T: We fought a lot freshman year. In front of everybody. They'd be like, "Oooh, they're fighting, let's walk away."
C: They weren't like, bad fights.
T: And our coach would just laugh. He'd go, "Ha ha ha, they're so cute together." I was like, "No, we're actually fighting." Also, we were in the same sociology class – that didn't go over well.
C: I sometimes don't give her as much patience as she deserves. I was trying to explain things and she wasn't getting it and I'd get frustrated fairly quickly.
T: So we would fight a lot over stupid things. But now it's been a while.
C: We've mellowed a bit.
Has your relationship changed since coming to Dartmouth?
C: It's definitely changed. Now, we're more independent. I think we matured a little bit more. I would also say we've gotten closer. She's more like another person, a good friend of mine, rather than someone I see every day, like a sister.
T: Awwwww.
Is there any sort of twin culture at Dartmouth?
T: There kind of is!
C: All the twins know each other. We definitely know a lot of the twins.
T: I don't know why. You mention you have a twin and people will be like, "Oh wow, so-and-so has a twin." And you just meet them because they have a twin. You have nothing else in common. I wouldn't be surprised if there was like a club that starts sometime soon.
C: "Twins at Dartmouth."
T: I wouldn't be surprised. There are already Facebook groups.
What's it like seeing each other out at night?
T: Weird. Weird! SO weird!
C: Yeah, I'm not gonna lie.
T: I can't do it anymore.
C: I can't do anything in front of her. I have. But it's awkward.
T: I saw you hooking up with a girl once. It was the most disgusting thing ever. Granted, I was in SigEp basement, so whatever, that's your territory. But I was like, "AHHH, AHHH! No. Rules. No!" But, on the same lines, he's seen a picture of me kissing --
C: A friend of ours actually, a mutual friend.
T: Whatever, it was Halloween! It gets a little weird. I don't know, Tri-Kap basement Chris --
C: Hey, I can't say anything.
T: It gets weird, but we just look the other way. We don't tell home about it.
C: I've gotten over it now.
T: Yeah, there's no scarring for life. Yet.
You said you've never been apart for an extended period of time. Do you have any plans to do so?
T: Well this coming fall, I'm going on the Religion FSP and he's not. He's going back to Austin. I was telling people, "Oh my gosh, this will be the first time I'm actually on my own." So we'll see how that goes. I'm pretty excited for it. I think that will be a defining moment.