On March 26, Adam Zeitlin’s student doppelganger, junior Nate Steinman, impersonated Zeitlin during his third period AP Literature class. While Zeitlin was absent from school that morning due to a flat tire, Steinman entered Portable 11, pretending to be him. Zeitlin decided not to press charges.
While they felt a shift in the atmosphere of the classroom, students did not take notice of the change until March 27 when Zeitlin returned.
“Something seemed off. He didn’t seem to know what he was talking about during the lesson. His hair seemed darker than usual. I asked him if he dyed it, and he got all sweaty and nervous,” senior Janet Farland said.
It is still unclear as to Steinman’s intentions, yet students are concerned for their safety and education.
“Identity theft is a very serious issue which doppelgangers play a large role in. I’d met him before, and he seemed like a nice kid, but I had no idea he was capable of this,” Zeitlin said.
The incident was brought up among the MCPS Board of Education, which is considering implementing fingerprint access classrooms. Students have expressed enthusiasm about the idea, hoping to prevent impersonation of teachers or other students.
“I just want to feel safe in school, and I think fingerprint access would be a great way to prevent people like Steinman from pretending to be someone they’re not,” junior Nick Atunya said.
