A.J. Lardner, public health nurse at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where a student survived a case of meningitis last fall, said first-year students' unfamiliarity with crowded dormitory living and their tendency to partake in "high risk behavior," such a drinking and smoking, makes them most likely to contract the disease.

Lardner said students' chances of getting meningitis decreases steadily after their first year.

"By the time people are seniors, their risk behavior has gone down some," Lardner said.

Not Quite 100 Percent

Although the ACHA statement might seem like a clear message to get vaccinated, Lardner said the statement was far from a recommendation.

"It was worded rather funny," Lardner said, adding that to her it seemed vague.

Although the meningitis vaccine is completely safe, it only immunizes recipients from four of the five strains of the disease. It offers no protection from the other strain, which causes about 30 percent of the cases on college campuses.

And Lardner said the vaccine is not 100 percent effective against the other four strains. So even if students receive the vaccine, they should not ignore the disease, she said.