This month’s on-campus outbreak of bacterial meningitis came as a surprise to the Cornell community. The infection is low on the watch-list of most college students, already preoccupied with a host of academic and extracurricular pressures.

Meningitis, though, is no stranger to the ivory tower, affecting a disproportionate number of college students every year. According to statistics from the American College Health Association, young people between the ages of 15 and 24 represent 30 percent of all reported cases of bacterial meningitis in the United States. From sleep deprivation to poor eating habits, college students are putting themselves at especial risk for infection.

The lifestyle of an undergraduate may be rooted in the pressures of the classroom, but the health risks of that lifestyle must be taken seriously. If nothing else, the appearance of meningitis on campus this month should remind all Cornellians that they are not immune to the consequences of unhealthy living.

Indeed, those consequences are especially manifest on a college campus, where the infection of one student can easily mean the infection of an entire classroom. The Cornell campus fosters interaction that is both intimate and widespread, hosting thousands of students in a close-knit living and learning community. Cornellians can take pride in their campus community, but they must also be aware of the health risks around them.

It may have taken an infection like meningitis to get us thinking about on-campus health, but healthy living is about more than just the avoidance of fatal disease. In the high-pressure and high-activity world of a college campus, diet, exercise and sleep are often abandoned by the end of freshman year. As Prof. Maas will gladly tell you, that’s just not the right way to live.

For health issues in need of more than diet and exercise, Cornellians are fortunate to enjoy the attention of doctors and nurses at Gannett. The health center is here for a reason, and students should never be afraid to use it. We may be annoyed by the long lines and the requisite pregnancy tests, but a healthy campus is well worth the wait.

Along with the students themselves, this University has a responsibility to maintain the health of the campus community. Cornell tends to do a good job in that department, which is why we’re still slightly baffled by the almost week-long gap between the first reported case of meningitis and the official University alert of an on-campus infection. Cornell may have notified individuals with an overt connection to the infected student, but on a campus like ours, one case of meningitis is relevant to the entire university community.

This month’s on-campus health scare was a bad way to kick off spring break, but it served as a valuable reminder about the importance of campus health. Cornell is an interconnected environment, and we, along with the University itself, are all responsible to keep our community safe. As the work starts piling up and the pressure begins to mount, everyone on campus can still make time to maintain their own health and the health of those around them. After all, on-campus safety is about more than just violence and firearms.