Stepping in unison. Singing in chorus. Outfitted in matching attire. Strolling in one line. Donning the same letters and colors. Members of Greek-lettered sororities often present themselves in a similar manner.
During the 90s, the Lambda Upsilon chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, (DST), Inc., experienced more than just that. In a six-year span, the chapter welcomed five sets of twins with three identical and two fraternal. UCA Magazine caught up with the ladies this spring.
“It’s phenomenal, and I am kind of in awe that so many twins came through one chapter,” said Audreka Peten ’01. “I think it makes a statement that the best people go through Delta Sigma Theta and then double up with a twin.”
Audreka was initiated in spring 1999 with her identical twin sister, Shameka Peten ’01, noting that pledging the same line was just one of many things they did.
“We’ve taken every class together from kindergarten to our master’s,” Shameka said. “We’ve had all our experiences together.”
The Petens were the last set of twins initiated in the 90s. The first were Tiffany Bumpers ’97 and Stephanie White ’97 in spring 1993.
“Tiffany and Stephanie were part of the reason I wanted to be a Delta. I always secretly looked up to them, and I knew they went to UCA and had come through Lambda Upsilon,” Shameka said.
Bumpers and White are fraternal twins who were initiated in spring 1993. To the best of anyone’s knowledge, they are the first set of twins through Lambda Upsilon.
“It was a lot of fun coming through with my sister,” Tiffany said. “When Audreka and Shameka came along, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, there’s another set of twins.’ And I think shortly before that time, Danielle and Jennice came along, so it just seemed neat to me that so many twins were coming through.”
The Delta Doubles realization came during Homecoming 2024 when Lambda Upsilon celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Fraternal twins Jennice Haynes and Danielle Haynes were initiated together in spring 1994, but the line could have had two sets. One of their line sisters is Melinda Peer, who has an identical twin, Brenda Garlington ’96, who was initiated two years later in spring 1996.
“I think we kept getting mixed up with Jennice and Danielle and it was like, ‘OK,’ but we don’t look anything alike, but people seem to classify you not as individuals. They see you as ‘the twins,’” said Melinda.
Identical twins Melony Phillips ’00 and Melody Bradley ’00 knew they wanted to be Deltas their entire lives because their mother is also a Delta. When initiated in 1997, they did not doubt that they wanted to have the experience with the other one.
“It was just kind of presumed that we would do it together,” the two said almost in unison.
Speaking in unison or finishing the other sister’s thought was common during conversations with the women. They all have multiple sets of twins in their families, some on both the maternal and paternal sides. They each talked about being roommates, sharing cars and doing all the typical twin activities, including their education, as they all expressed either having the same or similar majors.
Tiffany and Stephanie and Brenda and Melinda all majored in health-related fields. Jennice and Danielle majored in biology. Melony and Melody were education majors, and Audreka and Shameka majored in business.
With so many twins initiating through Lambda Upsilon in a short span, the group of ladies noted that none of the sets of twins were ever in the chapter together at the same time, but they have many other “crossovers.” Through their hometowns or immediate family connections, work, church, community service, same alumnae chapter, they have “full circle connectivity,” Melody said.
While the phenomenon of being a twin or having so many from the same chapter, all of the women said they rarely think about being a twin.
“When you’re a twin, it’s just natural. It doesn’t always dawn on me to think that there was something so special,” Audreka said. “It’s just who we are and who we’ve always been.”