WACO -- These past few weeks of high-volume robberies around the Baylor campus make it seem more like the season for taking, not giving.
And Waco police have made it a point to ask people...
"Watch out for their neighbors houses as they would their own,"Waco police information officer Sgt. Patrick Swanton said.
So one Baylor couple has made it their own mission to do just that.
"For students to to be aware of what's going on, we have to speak in a different kind of language," Benjamin Roberts, a Baylor MBA student said.
And the language?
T-shirts. They say, "Don't rob me, bro! I'm just a student."
Inspired by the YouTube video hit... "Don't tase me, bro."
But the shirts were specifically designed to draw attention.
"The shirt is not the message, the shirt is what's getting the attention of the students to really think seriously about the very real issue that's going on with crime and that how dangerous it is," Sara Roberts, a Baylor undergraduate student said.
But there has been some back-lash.
A few people have said the robberies are no laughing matter. But for the Roberts, this is a very personal topic.
"After being a victim of an armed robbery, there's nobody who takes it more seriously than us. All we're trying to say with these shirts, all we're trying to do is just to tell people to stay safe," Benjamin Roberts said.
Humor can be a great awareness campaign tool. The method usually does draw some ire (see www.savethetatas.com, which though controversial has raised over 700,000 USD for cancer research). The Movember strategy runs parallel to this as well regarding men's health. Also, laughter does heal and seeing that Benjamin and Sara were themselves victims of armed robbery, suggests they have an experiential context in launching this public relations campaign. After all, laughter can serve to heal.