And yes, Pidot has spent some $1,000 of his own money on Salient expenses and has not yet been paid back. (Dartboard sources tell us Pidot forecloses on the Salient next week. The first edition of the new publication, tentatively titled "Whit Pidot's Salient," will appear shortly thereafter.)
In light of these and other pieces of evidence, Hopke and Pidot continue to maintain that their publication is not in trouble. Please, gentlemen, give us some credit. If you think we're that gullible, you should try selling us parcels of Florida swamp land, or, better yet, some advertising space in the Salient.
The duplicitous nature of the denials by Pidot and his official spokesmodel cum puppet Hopke became wonderfully clear soon after the denials, when the Crimson discovered Salient e-mail that directly contradicted all assertions of stability. Unless you happen to be the nation of Mexico, the "serious financial emergency" written about in one message cannot be equated with "a normal financial situation" in another message.
Pidot disagreed over the Crimson's decision to cover the goings-on over at the Salient, saying that there was no news to be covered. Perhaps you'll call us too `aggressive' in reporting the news. But if a prominent campus publication loses almost half of its executive board, suffers from intense infighting and has all the financial stability of a savings and loan, that sounds like news to us. Being boring and soporific as a publication does not excuse the Salient from Crimson scrutiny. Just because everything in the Salient isn't worth reading does not mean everything about the Salient isn't worth reading.
According to the Unofficial Guide to Life at Harvard, the Harvard Salient was "founded in 1981 by students who sought to provide a journalistic alternative to what they felt was a predominantly liberal campus press." And what a splendid alternative it is. If you want to be liberal, work for Perspective, Lighthouse, HQ or any number of campus publications. If financial insolvency is your thing--perhaps you're a budding turnaround artist--then go work for the Salient.
Pidot explains the recent turmoil that has shaken his publication by talking about "hills and valleys" in organizational history. Whit, this isn't a valley. The chasm is wide and deep, and we wonder whether the Salient will ever emerge from it.