Why I Chose to Fight Crime with Sassy T-Shirts

As a husband and a MBA student at Baylor University my responsibilities lie in this order:

1. The wellbeing of my spouse, and
2. Mastering as much of the curriculum as possible.

I’m hindered in my service to these responsibilities if I’m worried about crime.

In the fall of 2010, my first semester at Baylor, I was robbed while sitting with my soon-to-be wife on my front porch by a man with a sawed off shotgun. Both the Baylor and Waco police were quick to respond and great in the moments after the robbery. However, after one week we were forgotten and the man who robbed us was never caught. The crime in the area immediately surrounding the Baylor campus since then has drastically increased.

During the fall of 2011 there have been seven robberies in less than seven weeks, six of which involved a weapon. The Waco Tribune has an excellent story describing exactly what is being done to stop the crime-wave. Baylor is making great steps in order to protect students. However, Baylor administrators seem to have forgotten that the medium is the message. Directing information to 18 – 22 year olds in a print newspaper makes as much sense as sending them a fax.

I have a responsibility to the safety of my wife and my fellow students to make them fully of the very real danger we are in as students. I have decided to speak out through the mediums of our generation: the internet and sassy t-shirts.

Join the movement and order your own t-shirt at Don’t Rob Me, Bro!

Don’t Rob Me, Bro! Stopping Crime with Sassy T-Shirts.

Due to the excessive crime just one block away from the Baylor University campus I have decided to design and sell sassy t-shirts which will really stick it to the same guy who continues to terrorize students…that’ll show him. Email me if you are interested in purchasing one.

The Legitimacy of Power

The Occupy Wall Street protests all over the country are fascinating. Of course, it is hard to understand how we as a nation have allowed losses to be socialized and gains to be privatized, but there is more going on which should be cause for reflection. What the protests have really done for me is to begin to make me think deeply about my own nation’s response to dissent and how completely oblivious those in power must be to the changing levels of civilian lead accountability. (This is especially poignant in light of the latest from Egypt.)

Let’s forget for a moment who is right and who is wrong and really look at what it means for police in full riot gear to be facing off against people who look like J Crew models (or college students). Who in power in these cities is thinking about what this looks like on You-Tube and how it comes across on Facebook? How many times will those with power ignore the new laws of social media and user-generated content?

 

Here is a helpful hint police all over the world. When pondering whether to pepper-spray or beat a protestor ask yourself this, “Would I want my mom to see me beating Ryan Gosling?” If the answer is no, which it always should be, find another way to enforce order if order needs enforcing.

Marriage

I would assume you would have grace for infrequent updates from a guy who has just been married. Sara and I are a day away from two months in and the newness is still new, glittery, and shiny.

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Engaged

I met Sara when I was 15 and instantly fell in love. I pursued her like a 15 year old guy pursues a girl, and even in spite of that she loves me back today. It’s been almost 11 years since we met and we are finally getting married. God does crazy stuff to work everything out for the good….can i get an Amen?

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Ice Cream is the great Mediator

Qatar is a country of 1.6 million people, and over 1 million of these people are migrant workers. During my trip I visited a migrant worker camp where we got to hear their stories, which you know all too well. Here is how the Migrant Worker Story goes:

1. Worker in developing nation recruited by some company for great overseas job, promised quick riches
2. Worker agrees to deal, signs contract, and travels overseas,
3. Worker’s passport is taken when company boss picks him up at the airport
4. Worker is charged $5k for his flight,
5. Of the $400 a month he makes $200 of it goes back to the company for rent and food,
6. Worker is stuck with no passport or funds.

For all the junk they have had to endure they were kind people looking for a voice, so they were attracted to our group so that they could share their individual stories. I wanted to have fun with these guys so I started my own ice cream social. We gave away 50 ice cream bars in ten seconds. It was Amazing! See the pictures below.

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Global Faith Forum Panel

I was involved with this back in November, but the video is now live. You need to go here to watch them all.