ISC students end hunger strike

ISC students end hunger strike

By Dina Nero Staff Writer

Iowa State College students who engaged in a weeklong hunger strike over the cancellation of Ion Television’s series Flashpoint have called it quits.

The students failed to convince Ion to consider their one demand: extending Flashpoint’s final season by one episode.

Donna Molson, a 22-year-old senior at the Ames campus, broke her fast with a Thursday dinner of vegetable broth. She said doctors advised students to return to their normal diets.

She said the strike wasn’t worth the effort.

"It was an extremely unsuccessful campaign for us," Molson said. "But I think we brought a lot of exposure to the issue of ending the show with an odd number of episodes."

William Benson, 27, a student organizer at Iowa State College, also dropped out Thursday.

Benson and Dorito waiting for a reply from Amy Jo Johnson

"As a group, I know some people are holding out till the end of (Friday)," Benson said. "I had to drop out for health reasons. (But) it was definitely not worth it."

"We were not contacted by Flashpoint star Amy Jo Johnson, who obviously doesn’t want to meet with our group," said hunger striker Natalie Dorito, 25, an economics major. "We sent her like a million twitter messages so overall, we're feeling hungry and feeling the hunger strike was a total failure."

The striking students had demanded another Flashpoint episode be produced so the series wouldn’t end with an odd number of episodes.

Last week, ISC Chancellor Butch Reed met with students and agreed to extend free-speech rights, which means people may be able to hand out fliers or set up booths in busier areas of campus.

On Friday, officials were relieved by the pending close of the hunger strike.

What especially rankled students was that ending the series on an odd number would make the DVD menu screen “look awkward”.

Benson said striking students learned not to expect instant gratification from cable networks - that change takes time – and that he really missed bacon.

"Our demands aren't off the table," said Benson, a graduate student in political science. "We will keep fighting for an even number."

The student fasts had varying endurance, one went to the hospital Tuesday for symptoms related to her fast.

"It was very empowering but also very humbling," Dorito said. "My energy level is normally pretty high but this made me slow down." “Well, it might have been all the weed we smoked” she added.

Bacon Stew is served

Dorito said students were disheartened by a lack of support from the university community. "I've learned that, well,  people in general sort of suck when it comes right down to it," said Dorito.

She's easing off her hunger strike slowly with liquids. But she hopes soon to enjoy some beef flavored chicken hot dogs and cheese enchiladas - or her mom's vegetarian meatloaf.

For Benson, it was more than a lesson in civic protest. 

"My blood pressure was really high," said Benson, who ended his fast with a salad. “I even wrote a script for an extra episode where Jules goes off to a gymnastics competition but shortly after writing it my stomach was really bad, lots of pain. And I was dizzy. I felt like I was going to faint.”

Artist's conception of Flashpoint hunger strike conversation.