For most University students, hurricanes are second nature.But for some, Hurricane Gustav is the first major storm they have experienced.Simeon Yerkun, international studies sophomore from Michigan, said his experience the last few days has been like a “roller coaster ride.””This is my first hurricane, and I’ve been extremely worried over the past couple of days,” Yerkun said. “I’ve been asking my roommates a lot of questions. Like two or three days ago I was pretty calm, but as it gets closer, you can almost feel it coming. So that’s kind of freaking me out a lot.” Yerkun said his friends reassured him Baton Rouge is a safe place to be during a hurricane. Though his friends have tried to calm him down, Yerkun said he is keeping his mind on one aspect of hurricanes.”I hear a lot of stuff flies around during hurricanes, so that’s my main concern,” he said. “I’ve seen movies like ‘Twister’ — I don’t think it’s going to be to that scale — but the feeling of not having any control of your surroundings is really scaring me.”Yerkun, as well as Rie Kuplic, are two of many student whose parents asked them to come home.Kuplic, a St. Paul, Minn., native and construction management freshman, said though she is not too scared, her parents feel otherwise.”I’m not really scared, but my parents are,” Kuplic said. “They think I’m stupid. They were like ‘Get out of town.’ But they’re just scared. All they see is what the news shows them.”Kuplic said she has mixed feelings and does not know exactly what to expect, though she thinks Baton Rouge may be hit harder than it was during Hurricane Katrina.”I’m kind of indifferent because some people make it seem really scary, and some people make it sound like it’s not going to be anything,” she said. “I came to Louisiana after Katrina, and this one sounds like it might be a little worse than Katrina as far as the weather is concerned, but I think we’re a lot more prepared than people were for Katrina.”Though Kuplic said homes in Minnesota may lose power during snow storms, she has never gone more than a few days without power, something she said may take a little getting used to if her East Campus Apartment loses power.Another student not used to losing power is Kelly Fisher, engineering freshman from Atlanta.She said her parents did not know the hurricane was heading toward Louisiana until Sunday morning.”I’ve never done any hurricane stuff, so I’m really scared,” Fisher said. “I’m from a place that never gets hard rain. My parents didn’t even realize the hurricane was bad until this morning. I called them, told them what was going on and they told me I should have probably gone home.”Two people who have become familiar with hurricanes during the past few years are junior defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois and junior shooting guard Alex Farrer.Jean-Francois, a Miami native, said he is not concerned about the hurricane and said others should not worry so much.”I’ve been through the whole hurricane thing before,” Jean-Francios said. “I’m fine and calm. The thing that worries me is all these people freaking out. I just got back from the gas station, and the cashier was a nervous wreck. I go to Wal-Mart and see people snatching every last thing off the shelves and that worries me. I just hope people be careful and don’t get hurt.”Jean-Francois recalled Hurricane Andrew as a time when he found out worrying does not help stop the storm.”Hell, I remember when Andrew came, and me and my brothers were just sitting on the porch with a little radio,” he said. “I didn’t worry about it then, and I’m not going to worry about anything now.”Farrer, a Phoenix native, said the last three years of hurricanes have not prepared him for Gustav.”I lived in a place that is surrounded by the desert, so a hurricane to me is not something I was concerned about growing up,” Farrer said. “I still don’t know what to fully expect, and you can’t ever play with Mother Nature, so of course I get a little worried when a hurricane comes.”Farrer said he thinks Baton Rouge will be safe, though meteorologists have made him wonder otherwise.”Hopefully it won’t be another Katrina, but from what I’m watching and hearing, it could potentially be pretty bad,” he said. “I’m just hoping and praying everything works out for everyone. To me, it seems like Louisiana, as a state, and LSU are about as prepared as they can be for this.”—-Contact Jay St. Pierre at [email protected]