Boston -- Hundreds of students from 10 area colleges marched through downtown Boston on Monday as part of the national Occupy Wall Street movement.

The protesters gathered on Boston Common and marched in front of the Massachusetts Statehouse carrying signs that read "Apathy isn't working, Raise your voice," and chanting slogans like "Fund education, not corporations" and "We got sold out. Rich got bailed out."

Francis Rick, a sophomore at Framingham State University, said many of her friends are struggling to pay for their education even while holding down part time jobs.


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"A lot of us are already in debt and we haven't graduated yet. A lot of my friends, even though they work 20 hours a week, that is not enough to cover their expenses," said Rick, 19, a psychology major. "A lot of us can't even afford to get sick."

The protestors met on Boston Common at about 1:30 p.m. A half hour later they began their march and looped around the Common, passing by the Statehouse before heading toward Dewey Square in downtown Boston, the focal point of the Occupy Wall Street protests in the city.

Student protesters said they're angry with an education system that they say mimics what they call the "irresponsible, unaccountable, and unethical financial practices" of Wall Street.

They also pointed to what they say is the income disparity of university presidents earning hundreds of thousands of dollars while other university workers struggle to make ends meet.

The protests have drawn comparisons to those of the Tea Party, a conservative political movement that gained steamed after the election of President Barack Obama.

At times the protest movements seemed to echo each other, with supporters in both movements targeting what they have described as the excesses of Wall Street. One of the protesters in Monday's rally also carried the iconic "Don't Tread on Me" flag that has been a prominent feature at Tea Party rallies.

But the marchers on Monday said they had little in common with the Tea Party, which they see as supported by Republican and corporate backers.

"This is a popular movement," said Matt Hayek, 26, a graduate student in climate research at Harvard University. "This has to do with individual people riling each other up."

Hayek said one reason he decided to join Monday's march was to highlight what he called the "corporate hijacking" of the nation's politics.

"There is an increasing feeling that we don't have any control over the political process," he said.

The Occupy Wall Street movement, which began with a small knot of protesters in Manhattan's financial district, has grown steadily, spreading to student groups and labor unions.

Last week about 300 members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, one of the state's largest unions, also joined the rally for the first time.

The protesters have described themselves at the "99 percent" -- referring to what they say are the vast number of Americans struggling to pay their bills while the income gap between the rich and middle class widens.

Some of the protesters in Boston on Monday held signs that simply read "99 percent." Other signs said "End Corporate Political Donations" and "Med. Students for Economic Justice."

Similar protests have sprung up in other cities.