By Robert Mackenzie
Some familiar faces will be coming to Ryerson this fall.
Lonny, Dennis, Scott, Michael, Dreyfus and Gerard — known as the “Selburn Six” -— were Canada’s first sextuplets when they were born in 1996.
Initially after their birth, the national media followed them everywhere they went. “We couldn’t go anywhere without being photographed,” said their mother, Mary Selburn. “Everyone knew about the Selburn Six.”
But after 19 years the media craze has faded. This fall the Selburns will be coming to Ryerson, joining the aerospace engineering program — except for Scott who will be studying biology.
“Seeing the Selburn Six in person is a surreal experience,” Ryerson president Sheldon Levy said. The identical features of each son “Look like something out of a science fiction movie,” he said.
Those identical features are shared by all of the brothers except for Scott, who doesn’t appear to possess any of the Selburn family’s physical genes. His slick, black hair stands out against the light brown crew cut of his brothers. In fact, to the observant, and even unobservant, eye it would seem that Scott isn’t related to the Selburn family at all.
“I’ve always been able to tell Scott apart more so than the rest of the boys,” Mary admitted.
The Selburns will be sharing a two-bed dorm in Pitman Hall, while Scott will be renting out his own place in Chinatown. According to the brothers, they hope to become the first sextuplets in space upon their graduation. However, that may be an unreachable goal, as Scott plans on becoming a veterinarian.
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