For Sara Shannon, the decision was a no-brainer.

She had heard of the dangers of bacterial meningitis – and especially the dangers for students living in on-campus housing – so she decided to get a vaccine against the disease.

“It wasn’t much of a question,” said Shannon, a Kansas University freshman from Ottawa. “I had heard how it could be deadly and it affects people in dorms, so I went ahead and got one.”

This is the first fall KU is requiring students living on campus to either receive a meningitis vaccine or sign a waiver acknowledging the risks. The policy has led to a higher percentage of vaccinated students, said Patricia Denning, chief of staff at Watkins Student Health Center.

So far, about 2,700 of the students living in residence and scholarship halls have told KU they were vaccinated. Only 81 have signed the waiver.

“We think that is overwhelmingly good response,” Denning said. “We’ve been working very hard on making sure parents and the students are informed before they came to campus.”

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But there are still about 1,800 students living on campus who haven’t told the university if they were vaccinated, plan to be vaccinated or plan to sign the waiver. Denning said those students won’t be able to enroll for the spring semester until they tell the university their choice on the vaccines.

“They’ll need to visit us and either sign a waiver or receive the vaccine,” she said.

A study published in 2001 in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. showed college students living in dorms were three times more likely to get bacterial meningitis than others their age.

The Watkins Student Health Center has recommended for several years that students be vaccinated. But there has been renewed focus on meningitis on campus since April 2004, when student Andy Marso nearly lost his life to the disease.

Marso’s case and recovery was highly publicized, and he has urged colleges to require students to be vaccinated.

“I think that helped bring it to the forefront,” Denning said. “Many people knew him on a personal basis and have seen the complications he’s suffered as a result.”

But not all students have been convinced.

David Loganville, a freshman from Independence, was one of the 81 who signed the waiver not to get the vaccine. He said he didn’t like needles and thought getting the vaccine would be a “hassle.”

“I just decided to sign the waiver because I didn’t really feel a need to get the shot,” he said. “I never really won the lottery or anything big like that, so I don’t see why I’d get meningitis. I just didn’t feel a need to.”

But Luke Henly, a sophomore from Lawrence, said he had no problems with the vaccine.

“I think it’s a great thing to do,” he said. “When you’re coming to college, you’re going to spend $2,500 on tuition, and if you live in the dorms it’s going to be another $2,500. Really what’s another $43 to save yourself that trouble?”

– 6News reporter Brooke Wehner contributed information to this report.