More than 30 Harvard students joined hundreds of Bostonians who gathered downtown to protest the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its policies last night.

Boston's rally was sparked by ongoing massive protests in Seattle, where the WTO is currently holding its annual conference.

Among speakers at the event were Rev. William Mathis, a Harvard Divinity School student and member of the corporate watchdog organization INFACT and Benjamin L. McKean '02, a member of the Progressive Student Labor Movement (PSLM).

"The WTO needs to change...it's not just a matter of little country versus big country or environmentalists versus capitalists--it's about democracy," said Harvard Law student and PSLM member Aaron D. Bartley.

While PSLM spearheaded Harvard participation, students affiliated with the Environmental Action Committee and other activist groups also joined the protest.

PSLM members said they saw the event as an important rallying point for the anti-sweatshop movement.

"The WTO directly relates to the sweatshop campaign, because the WTO doesn't take workers into account, with the general tendency to push the global economy to the lowest common denominator," said PSLM member Aron R. Fischer '00.

Members of the protest's organizing groups, including the labor union AFL-CIO and several activist organizations such as Jobs with Justice, United for a Fair Economy and the Rainforest Action Network, specifically asked Harvard students to attend the event.