Mumps outbreaks have been occurring on college campuses across nation in recent years. In some instances, such as when more than 300 cases hit a University of Illinois campus, officials helped stem the spread of the highly contagious virus by administering an extra dose of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (German measles) vaccine.

On Thursday, the University of Hawaii at Manoa reported its first three cases this semester. With 500 cases statewide so far this year, the campus’s mini-outbreak cannot be shrugged off. State officials are now advising most of us who live, work or sit in classrooms in which people are within 3 feet of one another to get an extra vaccination.

Children deserve better than trauma at home

Childhood is seldom picture-perfect, even in paradise. According to the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health study, more than 40 percent of Hawaii children have experienced trauma including the death, divorce or incarceration of a parent, and violence, drug abuse or mental illness in the home. That was on par with the study’s national average, finding that 43 percent of children under age 18 have had at least one so-called adverse childhood experience, while 21.4 percent have had two or more.

Our kids deserve aloha-filled homes, schools and communities.