Features

MC Relatives: Siblings on Campus

BY MADELEINE SCHWARTZ

STAFF WRITER

Your siblings may be annoying, loud and obnoxious, but there are moments that you know you couldn’t have survived without them. This appreciation will be shown all over the nation this Thursday, April 10 in honor of National Sibling Day.

According to the Office of the Registrar, there are about 76 pairs of siblings enrolled at Manhattan College presently. This includes all of the brothers, sisters and twin look-a-likes on campus. One set of these siblings is sophomore twins Meghan and Devon Dinegar.

At first, the two separated for college, Devon to the College of New Rochelle and Meghan to Manhattan. After a semester, Devon transferred to be a Jasper.

When asked why they didn’t go to school together, both answered that it wasn’t even an option in their minds to begin with.

Drawn to Manhattan College by their uncle Father Hill and his involvement with the campus, the Hills brothers (from top to bottom- Andrew, Kevin, Patrick) represent one of the only trios of siblings on MC's campus. Photo by James O'Connor
Drawn to Manhattan College by their uncle Father Hill and his involvement with the campus, the Hill brothers (from top to bottom- Andrew, Kevin, Patrick) represent one of the only trios of siblings on MC’s campus. Photo by James O’Connor

“We had totally different ideas of what we wanted college to be. We didn’t apply to any of the same schools,” Devon said.

As soon as Devon realized that the College of New Rochelle wasn’t where she wanted to be, MC was her lifeline.

“I visited Meghan in October of 2012 and fell in love with the school. I knew this was the school for me and it was bonus that my sister was here,” Devon said.

Now that both Dinegars have found their home at Manhattan, Meghan says that one of the perks is having two closets.

“I wore that shirt a few days ago,” she said, pointing at Devon. “And she’s wearing my shoes right now.”

A second pair of siblings at MC are sophomore Lili DeRossi and junior Gianluca DeRossi. They admit that they don’t see too much of each other but when they do, it’s nice to have one another to talk to. Both seem to agree that being at the same school has brought them closer together as siblings.

“It’s kind of nice because we have gotten to know the same people and have some of the same friends,” Gianluca said.

When asked her favorite part of having her brother on campus, Lili said, “It’s going to sound really corny, but he’s part of my home. Especially when I first moved here, it was nice knowing that he was already here.”

Although both sets of siblings mentioned that having a family member on campus provides support in trying times, MC does not provide any financial support to the siblings, for attending the same college. According to the Office of Financial Aid, MC gives no discounts to siblings like many other colleges across the country do.

Colleges such as George Washington University in Washington D.C. offer a “buy one, get half off” deal. The first sibling pays full tuition while the second pays only fifty percent. Other colleges such as Seton Hall University in New Jersey and Roger Williams University in Rhode Island give a 10 percent discount for siblings.

Regardless of how unusual a holiday like National Sibling Day is, it can still be said that siblings at Manhattan appreciate one another. Having a piece of home with them while conquering the big apple is certainly a deciding factor in making their college choice.