The Exponent - features


01-29-2003	Previous edition: 01-28-2003

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False report creates buzz about Olsen twins

By Dave Stephens
Features Editor

Despite the rumors, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen probably won't be attending Purdue next fall.

A news release, appearing to be from CNN.com, declaring that the Olsen twins will be enrolling at Purdue, has been circulating through the e-mails of numerous Purdue students and staff since first posted at 7:28 p.m. on Monday.

The news release, however, isn't real. The story, which can be found at the Web site 66.111.43.11/reports/2003/WORLD/0194/5885084.html, is actually a hoax generated from the Web site fakednews.com which allows users to generate "news" under the guise of legitimate sites such as CNN.com or MTV.com.

According to the fake news release, the Olsen twins — who've literally grown up on TV, first appearing as baby Michelle Tanner on "Full House" in the late '80s and early '90s, and later in a string of cable network shows — decided to attend Purdue because of "its strong academic reputation and picturesque campus." It also states that the twins' unnamed publicist said the Olsens "were looking for a school where they would not be distracted by the glitz of Hollywood."

According to Purdue's Office of Admissions, information about incoming students is kept confidential.

Paul Ott, a senior in the Schools of Engineering, said he received the e-mail about the star-studded duo's enrollment from a friend.

"I thought it was real. I don't know if I was excited or not," said Ott. "They're pretty hot, I guess."

Ott said it only took a couple of minutes for him to figure out the news release was fake, but not before he forwarded the e-mail to his friends.

And although the Olsens, born June 13, 1986, are only 16, the news release claims the twins finished their high school careers a year early with the help of tutoring.

But even with current students' enthusiasm about the possibility of the young stars attending Purdue, a campus admissions war may become necessary.

According to an almost identical news release, the Hollywood twosome has also decided to attend Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

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