The Pitt News T h e in de p e n d e n t st ude nt ne w spap e r of t he University of Pittsburgh
DONORS FUND CARDIAC ARREST SUPPORT
Pitt Men’s Basketball wins in close contest Page 8 January 7, 2016 | Issue 82 | Volume 106
Annemarie Carr Staff Writer
Pitt sociology professor Mike Epitropoulos expected to see bright lights or feel pain before he suffered cardiac arrest in the University Club gym five years ago. But the only thing he felt before waking up in the hospital in April 2010 was slight frustration — he had dropped his iPod and was bending down to pick it up when he lost consciousness. Epitropoulos had no heart rhythm before a nurse and Pitt police officer used an AED to save his life. “I didn’t know you could have cardiac arrest without having a heart attack,” Epitropoulos said. To raise awareness and help other survivors of cardiac arrest, Epitropoulos, Pitt’s Department of Emergency Medicine Center for Cardiac Arrest Survival and several other survivors have created a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for home-based CPR training kits. In addition to equipping people to respond to cardiac arrest, the kits will also provide research opportunities for a study on anxiety and depression in survivors. Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops during a heart attack, after breathing problems or because of electrolyte imbalances. When the heart stops pumping, the body doesn’t receive any oxygen and goes into arrest. See Cardiac on page 3
Pete Zheng, a sophomore, makes Valentine’s Day cards for Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh at a PittServes event at the William Pitt Union. Kate Koenig |Staff Photographer
MILLENNIALS BUYING MORE HOMES
Emily Migdal Staff Writer
When Matt Stephens graduated from Pitt last year, he knew he wanted to stay. Now, almost a year later, he’s looking to buy a house. “I decided to stay because a lot of my friends are still out here, and it’s a wonderful place to live,” Stephens, originally from Annapolis, Maryland and who now lives in the South Side, said. As a millennial, Stephens belongs to a group — especially in the United States — that fears commitment and often chooses to rent houses, rather than buy.
But Stephens is one of about 12 percent of millennials buying and considering buying homes in the Pittsburgh region — a number below the national average of one-third, but one that, according to a December 2015 National Association of Realtors prediction, is set to rise. This, in part, is because more young people are staying in the city and home prices have stayed relatively low compared to national averages. NAR’s assessment, based on a combination of millennial population, employment growth and housing affordability, pegs Pittsburgh as a growing hot spot for millennial homebuyers. In a separate NAR report about genera-
tional home buying trends, millennials made up the largest group of homebuyers in 2015 at 32 percent. “We’ve seen an influx in Wilkinsburg and of course you’re seeing it in central Lawrenceville,” Greg Whitted, board of directors chair for Pittsburgh Housing Development Association, said. “But in our neighborhood of Wilkinsburg, we’re seeing a resurgence of interest in that area.” For Stephens, a stable job market and an already-established group of friends convinced him to stay in Pittsburgh after graduation. See Homebuyers on page 2