Friday
february 28, 2014 Friday High 79, Low 45 Saturday High 79, Low 64
VOLUME 99 ISSUE 65 FIRST COPY FREE, ADDITIONAL COPIES 50 CENTS
Metropolitan
70,000 apartments to be built in Dallas Jehadu Abshiro News Writer jabshiro@smu.edu
Courtesy of nova.fnal.gov
Construction crews recently completed the roof over the loading dock area at the future site of the NOvA neutrino experiment.
Navigating neutrinos
Professor studies most elusive particle in the universe Lauren Aguirre Online Editor lcaguirre@smu.edu
Thomas Coan, an associate professor in the SMU Department of Physics, is working with over 200 scientists from around the world to study one of the universe’s most elusive particles — the neutrino. Neutrinos are one of the most abundant particles in the universe, but are hard to detect because they rarely interact with other particles. The NuMI Off-Axis electron neutrino Appearance, or NOvA, experiment may explain the makeup of the universe. “Neutrinos play a key role in explaining why anti-matter still exists,” Coan said. Anti-matter are particles that have the same mass as ordinary matter people are familiar with, but anti-matter has opposite charges. When matter and anti-matter collide, they annihilate each other. According to the NOvA experiment website, studying neutrinos can help explain why the universe has more matter than anti-matter. Because humans are made of regular matter, understanding the balance between these two particles can explain why humans exist. “By understanding these fundamental questions we can get down to the fundamental levels of how the universe works,” said Brian Rebel, a staff scientist at Fermilab, the organization that is managing NOvA.
Courtesy of nova.fnal.gov
Scientists use the NuMI horn to focus and steer a beam of particles that eventually decay into neutrinos.
ELLEN SMITH / The Daily Campus
Professor Thomas Coan
Coan started working at SMU in 1994 and joined the NOvA collaboration in 2005. “The project was just a proposal at that stage,” Coan said. “I helped develop some diagnostic instrumentation, which turned out not to be used because of a competing group.” Designing, funding and implementing an experiment is a process that takes time. Details of the design change as the experiment is developed. Eventually, the design becomes clear and solid, and construction can begin, Coan said.
Construction of NOvA began two years ago, and is projected to be completed early this summer. NOvA’s design spans over 500 miles. Fermilab’s accelerator complex in Illinois produces an intense neutrino beam which is sent through the earth to Ash River, Minn., where a neutrino detector is being constructed. The construction, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, will cost around $270 million. NOvA aims to answer questions about the properties of neutrinos. Neutrinos come in three kinds, or flavors: electron, muon and tau. Neutrinos shift from one flavor to another through interaction with other particles. NOvA examines how neutrinos change from the muon flavor to the electron flavor. The detector under construction
in Minnesota will weigh around 140,000 tons. “The probability of the neutrinos interacting is very small,” Rebel said. “We have to make a large detector that has a lot of mass so that they can have plenty of atoms to interact with.” By studying these interactions, scientists can observe the neutrinos changing from one flavor to another. According to the NOvA website, this interaction may help explain the balance of matter and anti-matter in the universe. Once construction of the detector is complete, the NOvA experiment will run for about 10 years. “It’s all about deferred gratification,” Coan said. It’s hard to wait because “you just want to know the answer,” he said.
Finding an apartment near campus in Dallas might be less of a hassle for students in the coming years. In a new report, by commercial real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle, the Dallas-Fort Worth area is forecasted to be the country’s top apartment leasing market over the next three years. “They have to build to keep up with the people who are coming in,” Ebby Halliday Apartment relator Paula Hightower said. North Texas has about 25,000 apartments currently under construction, more than any other major metropolitan market in the U.S. Apartment leasing is projected to total almost 70,000 units through 2017, the researchers said. Greystar, an apartment firm, is planning to build 1,674 in Dallas. There are concerns about the current rate of apartment construction as researchers predict that new supply in the DFW area won’t keep up with increasing renter demand. “It’s not because [apartment renters] can’t afford a home,” Hightower said. “It’s a lifestyle choice for people living in apartments.” The walk-and-go and maintenance-free options of the apartment life is appealing to more people. Most apartments that are being built are “luxury style.” “When they invest to build apartments they make sure they have all the amenities plus something else to make it different,” Hightower said. Last year, Ebby Halliday had one of its most profitable years and is expecting to do even better this year. Dallas is ranked number four in the 2014 Forbes America’s Fastest Growing Cities list. The city is known for its business-centric atmosphere. Areas like Uptown, Deep Ellum, Trinity Groves and the Arts District are expanding commercially, culturally and residentially. “Our business is already booming.” Hightower said. Just down the street from SMU, the Landmark at Lovers Apartments are being built. The
urban luxury apartments are marketed to 25 to 45-year-olds, although there are prospective residents outside that age range, according to Landmark at Lovers’ assistant manager Claire Scheihing. “We’ve had some SMU students look into leasing,” Scheihing said. Junior Kelsey Cordutsky, a marketing and creative advertising major from Denver, is looking for apartments for the first time in Dallas. “It been a different kind of search,” Cordutsky said. “I’ve always had the comfort of knowing I have a place on campus.” She has been a RA for the past two years. Figuring out how many roommates, whether renting a house is a better option and price are some of the things she is considering. “There have been a lot of options,” Cordutsky said. “Living in Dallas can be pricey.” A 588-square-foot onebedroom/bathroom apartment at Landmark at Lovers Apartments is a little over $1,200 a month. BLVD, a popular option for SMU students, starts at $950 a month. “Price really depends on the neighborhood,” Hightower said. Hightower researches properties before presenting an average of five apartment options to her clients. It usually takes her clients about four hours to make a decision. Although apartment vacancy rates are 1 percent higher in the DFW area, U.S. apartment vacancies are at a 10-year low. The Landmark at Lovers Apartments is currently at 2.9 percent occupancy and the leasing rate is much higher. The complex will be completed in March 2014 with 336 units. The apartments are one of The Carbon Companies’ properties. Carbon Companies is a multidisciplinary team that in-houses construction, design, development and management. Although they are based in Dallas, Landmark at Lovers is the first Dallas property for the company. “They’re building a flagship to represent themselves,” Scheihing said. “It’s a fabulous property to show what they’re capable of and their style.”
Feature
Current SMU juniors plan to tie the knot this summer Catherine Stacke Contributing Writer cstacke@smu.edu
Courtesy of Catherine Stacke
Amanda Arismendi and Fiance Michael Pittman
“It’s all about purpose,” SMU junior Michael Pittman said. “I knew that the next girl I got serious with, I wanted to marry.” Just about one year after he first met Amanda Arismendi in an Art of Acting class at SMU, they became engaged to be married this coming June. Upon sitting down with the couple, their affection for one another is abundantly clear. Some would say that getting engaged at the young age of 20 is risky or irresponsible, but for he and Arismendi, it felt just right. “I was upfront in my intentions
in our relationship from the very beginning,” Pittman said. The couple credits their faith with bringing, and keeping, them together. They agree that God has played the biggest role in their union. “We talked about marriage before we even started officially dating,” Arismendi said. “We both had a clear idea of what we were looking for in this relationship, and after almost a year of dating, marriage seemed like the natural next step.” The duo has a very strong sense of self, which has carried over into their wedding planning process. As tuition paying college students, Michael and Amanda are planning their June 21 wedding in the most economical
way possible. Their strict “no alcohol” policy some college students might find archaic, however for them, it was an unnecessary addition to their ceremony. The soon to be newlyweds also plan on reaching out to those close to them for an extra hand in the planning process. “It helps to have such a large family,” Pittman said. “Someone always knows someone who can help out, whether it be with the cake, flowers or whatever.” For being so young, these two certainly have “purpose.” Pittman and Arismendi’s relationship has not only taken SMU by storm, but the world. Pittman regularly blogs about his experience as an engaged
college student, and the blog has had over 800,000 hits and has been viewed by people in over 200 different countries. Arismendi too, has started a blog, her first post bears the title “Amanda, in Love.” In addition, the couple also regularly posts videos on YouTube offering relationship advice to others. “They have a deep passion to give hope and encouragements to others in relationships, something I know will only continue to get even stronger after they get married,” said Tyler Scott, a close friend of the couple. Post-marriage, the Pittmans will live in apartment style dorms on campus together, before graduating next May.