Food prices have risen everywhere. Grocery stores, restaurants and even the Hoban lunchroom are victims.

The purpose of the cafeteria is not to turn a profit but to break even and feed the students.

By boycotting the lunch lines students disrupted the supply and demand the cafeteria depends on to meet its budget. Prices could rise even more because of the lack of demand caused by the boycott.

The boycott was a good idea, in theory. Having students band together to support a cause will definitely get something accomplished, but before starting a boycott, students need to be aware of the other side of the story.

Prices rose because the supplier raised prices by up to 15 percent, not because Hoban wanted to make more money from the cafeteria.

Hoban hires staff to prepare the food and purchases the food from a company instead of hiring out to restaurants like other area schools. This means that Hoban has to pay employees as well as purchase food.

The upset in the supply and demand not only hurts the business office, it also hurts the employees who depend on the cafeteria for their income.

Before starting a boycott, students should have asked for more information from the administration and explored alternative options.

Boycotting lunch lines isn’t the only way to make a change. Students can instigate change by looking up a company that sells less expensive food or exploring the cost of hiring out to a restaurant rather than beginning a boycott that will ultimately hurt not only the school, but the rest of the student body as well.

However, it is not only the students who began the boycott who should be blamed. The students who blindly followed in the protest are also at fault. Before boycotting the lunch lines students should have asked for more information.

Students coming together to instigate a change is a good idea, but this was an example of a poorly organized protest that ultimately did more harm than good.