Now is the time. A boycott is a true expression of the consumer’s will. It is the power that you, the consumers, possess over the provider. I call the student body to band together and refuse to purchase mozzarella sticks.

You may wonder, “Why mozzarella sticks?” They are one of the most absurdly priced items in the cafeteria. They cost 75 cents per stick. This is a ridiculous amount, and while I find them tasty, I do not value them at this price. At the end of the day, they are just fried sticks of cheese.

The consumers have the one thing that the provider wants: money. If they do not get the money, they will have to give in to the demands of the consumers. Today, the consumers are often unaware of their own power.

Students can make change and impact the school. Just this year, students have drastically changed the way that JC works.

Students went to Dean of Students Brian Powell about adding sweatshirts to the uniform and allowing boys to wear colored dress shirts. By the time winter dress code went into effect, the dress code was changed.

The junior AP English class made proposals to change various things around the school based on the book “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell. Juniors Hanna LeBuhn, Billy Jump, and Lauren Glase proposed ways to get more people singing at masses. Chorus teacher Julie Parrish has incorporated several of those ideas into the mass.

This same principle can be applied to the cafeteria prices: students can work to lower them. Anything that is bought by a large quantity of people is subject to the power of the boycott.

Companies will be forced to act since the one thing they care about is their profit margin. A boycott will put any company in a very uncomfortable and possibly dangerous situation. A boycott would have massive effect at JC since the community is smaller, so less people are necessary to cause change.

Take action. Imagine if no one bought mozzarella sticks for weeks. The prices would have to be lowered.

Justin Hawkins is an Opinion Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.