"In the shadow of the Capitol, over 8,000 people are homeless," says Matt Gannon '18. "We walk by the homeless without giving them a second of our time, without making eye contact, without smiling, without thinking of them. We think of this problem as an accepted reality, not as the undeniable injustice that it is."
As a way to raise awareness about homelessness, Matt created and entered the following short film--called "Invisible"--in a contest called "C-SPAN StudentCam 2017." He had heard about the contest on social media in September 2016, when current Gonzaga parent and C-SPAN Vice President Mr. Peter Kiley posted about it on his Facebook wall. The contest posed the question: "What is your message to Congress and the incoming administration?" In early December 2016, with the help of Mr. Chris Moore '10 (his TV Communications teacher), Matt began researching his chosen topic of "homelessness" with classmate Winston Leslie '18. Then Matt spent four days filming at the Father McKenna Center (located on Gonzaga's campus), Union Station, and Dupont Circle.
"In a city devoted to making laws for the bettering of American lives, the homeless are often forgotten. They are ignored. To us, they are invisible, even though they are in plain sight," says Matt. "By filming 'Invisible,' I hope to make people stop and think. I hope to start a conversation. Maybe some real change is possible."
