Lauren Oxendine admits Barack Obama doesn’t have a lot of Washington experience, but the senior international studies major says she views it as a positive.

“People are like, ‘He hasn’t done anything,'” Oxendine said. “Yeah, he hasn’t started a war.”

Oxendine was one of more than 100 Democrats and Obama supporters who gathered for the opening of a 16-county regional campaign office for Barack Obama in Joplin on Aug. 20.

Wearing a tan cowboy shirt and flip-flops, Timothy Anderson, regional field manager, addressed a crowd composed of a variety of ages, both young and old.

“Whatever it takes, we’re going to do it,” Anderson said.

While Oxendine has been an Obama supporter since he announced his campaign, she was in Japan for the primaries and was not able to vote.

She chose Obama over Hillary Clinton because of his separation from Washington, D.C.

“I liked them both, but what I like about him is he’s not part of the political machine,” she said. “He’s from the outside and I really like that.”

She says she also likes how Obama has not taken donations from lobbyist or corporations.

Norton Wheeler, associate professor of history, was an “enthusiastic supporter” for Hillary Clinton, but came out to support the Democratic nominee at the opening.

He said he supports Democrats because of stronger support of education, including financial aid and grants.

Wheeler has gone door to door to campaign for local and national campaigns in the past and plans on “spending an evening or two making phone calls.”

Kisa Clark, freshman mass communication major, from Neosho wasn’t old enough to vote in the primaries, but plans on voting for Barack Obama in the general election.

“I agree with all of his major beliefs,” Clark said. “And he’s a much better candidate than (John) McCain.”

Obama has better views on education and health care, according to Clark.

“I like Obama’s health care plan because he supports a more universal plan that will provide for more people, and I believe that it’s a problem and a very big issue,” Clark said. “We have hundreds of thousands of people without health care and it’s because of it.”

Clark also dislikes McCain because of his support for the No Child Left Behind Act.

According to Clark, it’s one of the most destructive education policies we’ve ever had.

“I think the logic is so flawed, it tests schools and then the schools that aren’t doing well, that need the help, they take their funding away. Instead of the schools that need more help getting more funding, they’re getting it taken away,” Clark said. “The logic is the opposite of what it’s supposed to be.”

Clark said when she attended high school usually the school would only focus on the standardized tests, instead of focusing on education.

“They go away from teaching just so they can do better