Back in grade school, it was easy. We could just hand all of those pesky health forms over to mom and she would take care of it.

Now that we're adults out in the big bad world, however, we have to deal with these things ourselves. As college students, it's time we take responsibility for our own health.

At the end of last semester, about 700 Penn State students had not complied with the new College and University Student Vaccination Act.

Passed by Pennsylvania last June, the act requires all students living in dorms to either receive the vaccine or sign a waiver stating they chose not to have the shot.

The university went out of its way to assist students in meeting the new requirement.

In October, the Penn State Office of Housing sent out more than 1,200 letters and e-mails to students who had not yet complied with the act, explaining that if they didn't do so by the end of the semester, they would be evicted from their dorm rooms.

University Health Services (UHS) sponsored several clinics for students to get the vaccine, and students could make appointments with UHS in Ritenour Building at a time convenient to them.

At the end of last semester, Housing even assigned resident assistants to go door to door and talk personally to students who had still not gotten the vaccine or signed the exemption form.

And over winter break, the university sent letters to 700 students' home addresses, saying again that students needed to comply with the act before returning to campus for the spring semester.

But still, these warnings apparently weren't enough for the 300 students who were locked out of their dorms this weekend because they did not comply.

These students found that their Penn State ID+ cards did not give them access into their buildings.

They were, quite literally, left out in the cold. They didn't have anyone to blame but themselves.

Students need to take responsibility for something as basic and important as their own health.

Meningitis is something college students cannot ignore -- it claimed the life of a Penn State student just two years ago.

For the sake of their health, and of their maturity, all students need to stop ignoring their responsibilities and realize that they're not children anymore.