According to the American College Housing Association, there are between 100 and 125 cases of meningitis reported each year on campuses nationwide. Of those cases, between five and 15 students die. A betting person might play the odds here, saying that the pool seems small enough to take the risk of not being vaccinated, but considering the symptoms and the contagious nature of the disease, why take a chance with your life?

There are two types of meningitis – viral and bacterial. The first is almost never life threatening, but bacterial meningitis can lead to horrific long-term effects including brain damage, amputation and even death, as our community has experienced. This disease is transported with ease through air droplets and shared items such as food and drinks. People between the ages of 15 and 24-years-old are among those most at risk for contracting meningitis, and freshmen, especially those living in dorms, are at an even greater risk.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that students living in dorms receive the newest vaccination, Menactra, which protects recipients from strains of neisseria meningitis. And although Loyola also recommends receiving a vaccination, it is not mandatory. Louisiana Law (RS 17:170) – which dates back to 1991 – does require, however, students to receive tetanus/diptheria and measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations.

Three lives have been claimed by bacterial meningitis in Louisiana so far this year – Trent Fucich and two students at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. How many deaths will it take for the state legislature or universities to realize that we must make the vaccination mandatory?

With New Orleans still roughed up from Hurricane Katrina and many students volunteering in dirty cleanup environments, tearing out sheetrock and mucking up debris, there is no better time than now to ensure that this disease does not take any more lives.