The Obama campaign opened its Oakland office last evening and used the opportunity to wrangle in… The Obama campaign opened its Oakland office last evening and used the opportunity to wrangle in volunteers. The office is located between Meyran Avenue and McKee Place on Fifth Avenue, tucked into the western edge of Pitt’s campus. ‘Pittsburgh is the ground zero of our western Pennsylvania strategy because what we’re really hoping to do here is drive up our vote total in Pittsburgh, the amount of people who vote here, and registering more students because that way we can offset the challenges we’re going to be facing in the rest of western Pennsylvania,’ said Alex Merchant, a field organizer for the campaign. Merchant spoke briefly to the attendees of the opening about the importance of volunteering and the Pittsburgh vote. ‘If you’re really committed to electing Sen. Obama, then you have to commit to volunteering,’ he said. ‘The thing that wins elections is when people talk to other people.’ Campaign spokeswoman Allison Price said the student vote and volunteering are crucial to the campaign. ‘We’re thrilled with Oakland because the students of Pitt, CMU and Duquesne have been very involved to date,’ said Price. ‘And this gives them the opportunity to be close to where they live and be more involved.” Staff members were on hand to answer prospective volunteers’ questions. Visitors could also sign up for events like ‘Steps for Change,’ a voter registration drive during which volunteers will be stationed on staircases around the city. ‘ ‘At this point, it’s primarily a big push to get as many students registered as we possibly can,’ said campaign volunteer Theresa Miller-Sporrer, ‘because the bigger the voter pool, the bigger the voter turnout, the better the results of the election are going to be.’ Volunteers will encourage people to vote, make phone calls and participate in local events, said Pitt sophomore Julie Rozen. Yet, she said, the main focus right now is to get as many people registered to vote before the Oct. 6 deadline. ‘We can’t get people to vote for Obama or get them to vote in general if they’re not registered,’ she said. ‘Now it’s just a push to get everyone we can to register.’ Drew Maksymowych, another volunteer for the Obama campaign, said the office’s proximity to college students has allowed the campaign to register locals, particularly college freshmen. He added that the office also acts as a resource for people who have questions about the general campaign or Obama himself. College Democrats president Lissa Geiger said the opening of the office is exciting because it shows the Obama campaign’s commitment to students. ‘[The campaign] is really interested in getting them involved and listening to their issues and working for them.’ She added that she feels the campaign will get a lot more volunteers now that there is a location so close to campus. According to the latest Quinnipiac University poll, Obama leads Sen. McCain 3 percent after the two party conventions.