Although crowds occupying the Capitol rotunda on a daily basis in protest of the Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill have dissipated, one activist said he will express his opposition through extreme means with a continued hunger strike.

Matthew Schauenburg, an east side Madison resident, said he is prepared to continue the hunger strike until Walker rescinds his legislation to limit the collective bargaining rights of public workers. Tuesday marked day 18 of the strike.

Schauenburg said he remains willing to continue his effort until he eventually collapses and is hospitalized. After his release and recovery, he said he would return to the Capitol.

“The governor and Republicans in the Legislature have forced Wisconsin to a desperate situation, which calls for desperate measures,” he said. “I’m willing to die for Wisconsin and democracy if need be.”

He said Walker’s proposal goes beyond public workers who stand to lose a piece of their livelihood and will affect all citizens, particularly with the bill’s possible economic implications.

Schauenburg, a former Teamster, said he was beginning to feel weak after nearly three weeks subsisting solely on water and potassium chloride tablets.

While Schauenburg has maintained a unique form of activism in non-violent protest, Teaching Assistants’ Association Co-President Kevin Gibbons said he would not encourage union members to assume such extreme measures.

“In some ways, because this is a grassroots movement, you get people expressing themselves in a variety of ways,” he said. “We encourage the actions we vote on as a body, and I doubt we would ever call for a hunger strike.”

He added some individuals are more able to take such extreme measure because a union remains accountable to its members and would have to receive a majority vote in a meeting of all members.

Many groups have chosen to advocate highly coordinated initiatives in an effort to ensure the event makes a significant impact, Gibbons said.

He also said though TAA and other unions are no longer pursuing a visible presence at the Capitol, members have reallocated energy to canvassing and phone banking for recall elections and larger rallies still slated for weekends in the near future.