The twins were accused of cheating on the exam. They gave up on their dream of becoming doctors because of the accusation. The twins won a lawsuit after being accused of being innocent. The identical twins, who were studying at the Medical University of Southern Carolina, went to their favorite hang-out spot in Charleston in the fall of 2016 A lot of their peers were there. The students were staring and nudging each other, according to the student. "Wherever we traveled, it happened," she said. We'd get a cold reception if people gossiped about us. She said that they had to order delivery because they couldn't go to restaurants anymore.
The sisters were labeled "cheats" by M USC. The medical school said the scores they got in an exam were more than just a coincidence.
The accusations were devastating. Both of us knew that we did nothing wrong.
Six years of torment have ended for the twins. Last month, they won their defamation case. They were awarded damages of over one million dollars.
The sisters took the exam in May of last year. The twins were seated at the same table. She said that they were about five feet apart. She said that their monitors prevented them from seeing each other.
The faculty accused them of cheating.
"My mind was racing, I had to appear before the honor board," she stated. I was so upset that this was happening to us.
There is no way to process your emotions when you are accused of something. She thought the claims would be withdrawn despite the trauma.
The answers have been very similar since first grade, according to the woman. At high school, she said, they graded within a point of each other. The scores on their SATs were the same. They got the same score when they took tests in different places.
The sisters were told by the council that a professor raised the alarm after seeing the results of the class. He thought that the twins were working together.
As the exam continued, he told the person in charge to keep an eye on them. The Binghams nodded their heads as if they were signalling. She said someone pushed her chair. One person put a sheet of paper on the table so the other could see it.
The women protested that they were innocent. We were nodding at a question on our screens. She said that they didn't look at each other.
People often commented on their "incredibly similar" mannerisms, she said.
When you're showing regular and familiar behaviors at an exam, confirmation bias can be used against you.
The cheating claim was ridiculous, according to the person. She said that the sisters had no telepathy or secret language. She said that they don't feel each other's pain.
The twins were convicted. After a week of waiting, they were cleared of the charge.
The damage was done and word got out. There were whispers and rumors about how we'd been dishonest in our studies. Gossip and recrimination took place. They were targeted on social media by peers. The case was reported by media in many states.
The sisters said peers didn't like them. A friend they'd known for a decade refused to speak to them. They said they weren't invited to the weddings. A bride-to-be sent a generic email. They received a save-the-date card from another person.
"We knew everyone in our medical school class, as well as other classes, and we were two of the most social individuals on campus."
We didn't sleep, we gained and lost weight.
In September of 2016 they withdrew from M USC. The dean recommended that they leave because of how hostile it became.
When they were forced to give up their medical careers, she was shattered. It really killed me. Since I was little, I wanted to be a doctor.
Their lawsuit was filed in the year 2017.
"We were aware of the truth," said the person. We weren't going to allow our reputation to be destroyed.
The first thing was to clear our name.
She said it took a lifetime to build a reputation.
The sisters became very close. "We depended on each other." The two of them came together to fight.
They went to law school instead of going to medical school. They had the same grade point average when they graduated. They work at the same law firm that handles defamation cases.
"We didn't want anyone to have to go through what we had gone through again," she said. We switched paths to make sure that people don't have to go through what we went through.
The case took a long time to go to trial. The records of education were presented to the jury. They showed how they obtained identical or near-identical scores in previous exams.
The professor wrote in their defense. He said in a letter that they had submitted the same answers for an exam he had supervised. They'd been sitting in different parts of the classroom. It would not have been possible for them to work together.
Nancy Segal is a psychologist who studies the study of twins. If the sisters had not ended up with the same scores, she would besurprised.
The Twin Studies Center was founded by a professor at California State University, Fullerton. There are cheating complaints against twins.
Segal said that they are genetically prone to act the same way. They're natural partners in the same environment, and have been raised the same.
She said that twins are likely to have similar tastes, talents, social preferences, and academic accomplishments.
"Identical twins just have this kind of understanding that goes beyond what we usually think of as a close relationship," Segal said. When they accused the twins of cheating, they didn't consider the impact of their genetic profiles.
The woman said that she held the man's hand. They said it was the biggest moment of their lives. We've been living with this for six years and finally have everything back to normal.
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