Alumni Plead With Board to Save Salt Ins. in Portland

For those like me who didn't know, The Salt Institute is an incredible resource in Portland where students focus on Documentary Studies.

Since learning about Salt last year, whenever I've mention them in a crowd the reaction is always positive.  Any reference to the program or the students who have gone through the school is always met with the utmost air of respect.

So when the board at Salt made the sudden announcement that they would be closing their doors, you can imagine how surprised the residents of portland and beyond were.

The most shocked and saddened were the many talented, working Alumni in Portland who felt so strongly that they organized Save Salt, and then met with the board yesterday in an attempt to halt the closure.

Ray Routhier of The Portland Press Herald reported that Elyssa East (one of the alumni in opposition to the closure) stated the "...principal goal (in meeting the board) is to get them to slow down the dissolution of the organization and present them with our ideas for a way forward.” East went to Salt in 1997 and now teaches writing at New York University.

While board members declined the opportunity to share with Routhier what steps if any were taken before deciding to close the school, they did consent to the meeting; stating, "we're just having a conversation."

As someone who works in local film and television, I hope these "conversations" lead to the restoration of this wonderful resource.

For more information or to join the conversation head over to Save The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies Facebook page.