By Leah Bianchi
Photos by John Fjelstad
[slideshow]

Occupy Boston had its biggest gathering, which included students from Fitchburg State University, on Oct. 10. Andrew Bianchi, a junior at Fitchburg State University and Occupy Boston protester, said he was participating “to protest the vast inequalities within this world and within this country. To voice my opinion along with 3,000 other people.”

Starting early in September, protesters set up camp sites in Dewey Square, held public assemblies, marched and sat in roads in the name of economic equality and justice.

“To have change, you have to put pressure on your government,” Bianchi said. He explained that the people who took part in the Columbus Day protest were of all ages and races. “There were all walks of life: teachers, students, union activists, labor activists, veterans of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. There were elderly people and even 6-year-olds.”

While the police reported the crowd as growing radical and rough, Bianchi said he and the rest of the protesters were “peaceful, united” with “a lot of positive energy.”

The Occupy Boston protesters want a change in unemployment and housing foreclosures; they want economic equality. Their primary message is that everybody in America is affected by these issues.

Their most powerful chant: “We are the 99 percent! And so are you!”