With all the required courses and the abundance of electives at Niles West, it can be difficult to fit every class you want into your schedule. This is where homeroom lunch comes in, giving students like me who need to take a few extra courses an option to get lunch from the cafeteria. This may seem like a nice solution for students wanting to take more classes, but there are a few issues with homeroom lunch.

I’m a student who has a lot of different interests, like many of my classmates at West. I take an art class, an extra English class and a language course, giving me just one free period throughout the day. Since I take many specialized classes that are only offered once or twice a day, the only time that I could fit my free period into my schedule was eighth period when the cafeteria is closed. I was lucky enough to get into an Early Bird class, which allowed me to have a free period every day instead of only a few times a week.

While I may be able to have a break during the day, some of my classmates aren’t as lucky. There are very few classes that are offered for Early Bird and the classes that are offered are difficult to get into. There also aren’t buses that get to school on time for Early Bird classes, so those who get in may not even be able to get there on time. Early Bird may seem like a solution to those wanting to take extra classes, but because of its inaccessibility to many students, it’s not an easy fix.

Late starts every Wednesday also cause a problem because homeroom is canceled. This leaves people who have homeroom lunch with no time to eat. It’s even more of a problem on weeks when there are both late starts and assemblies, making students unable to eat two or even three times a week.

Students who buy their lunch from school are left with only one place to get something to eat: the vending machines. While vending machines may give people a short-term fix, the food for sale is usually unhealthy, overpriced and not filling. And, if you forget your wallet on Wednesday, you’ll go without food for seven hours or more.

A possible solution may be to just bring a lunch to school and eat in other classes, but in my experience, many teachers don’t let you eat in their classes, even after you express to them that you don’t have a lunch period.

Overall, homeroom lunch is a poor excuse for a lunch period, and Niles West does not have enough options for students who take extra classes to eat. A possible solution to this is having homeroom every day, even when there are late starts and assemblies. While it may cut into classes’ instructional time, at least students won’t have to go to class with a grumbling stomach.