Amid the chaos in the PMAC during Hurricane Gustav, Student Government President Colorado Robertson tried to catch a few hours of sleep after volunteering for more than 12 hours.When he learned no cots were available, he pulled together some basketball pads, curled up and shut his eyes.Using a towel as a blanket, Robertson finally got some rest.Robertson volunteered 46 hours in the turbulent days during Hurricane Gustav. Robertson said he stayed in the PMAC during the 23-hour lockdown, working in the command post, coordinating with the Emergency Operations Center and helping the patients.K.C. White, dean of students, said she was overwhelmed by the more than 2,000 students who volunteered during the storm.”It speaks a lot to the character of the LSU community,” White said.She said SG was “very well represented.””Student Government was definitely involved,” White said. “I saw them doing a little bit of everything.”Robertson said SG’s main responsibility before the storm hit was to convey to students the need for preparation.”We knew students wouldn’t prepare as well as the average person just because of lack of space,” Robertson said. “And out-of-town students just don’t have the experience.”Robertson said SG was also involved with recruiting volunteers and meeting with administrators to discuss students’ needs.Thirteen SG executive staff members volunteered during the storm, Ellen Carmichael, SG press secretary, said. There are 32 executive staff members, according to SG’s Web site.Micah West, SG chief of staff, said he volunteered more than 60 hours.West described the experience as “difficult and great.””The nature of it is mentally arduous,” West said. “But when your state needs you, it needs you. And if you’re able to help, you should.”Ben Clark, SG speaker, confirmed four senators volunteered. Seven other senators said they gave their time.There are 46 senators, according to the SG Web site. The remaining 35 senators did not respond to requests from The Daily Reveille to detail their services.Clark said he sent out “two or three” e-mails to the senators asking for their services.Robertson said several senators and members of his executive staff left Baton Rouge before Hurricane Gustav.”We were told it was coming straight for Baton Rouge, and people left,” Robertson said. “It was a decision made by both the parents and the students. If they felt uncomfortable and wanted to evacuate, I support that.”Clark said he was “impressed with the senators who did volunteer.”SG Senator Chris Sellars, University Center for Freshman Year, said he volunteered at the PMAC, 459 Commons and the bus triage for 36 hours.”I knew I wasn’t going to evacuate,” Sellars said. “It was something I could do to keep my mind off the actual hurricane.”Sellars said his responsibilities ranged from organizing and staffing volunteers, to simply talking with patients housed in the PMAC.Robertson said directly after the storm, SG members handed out more than 2,000 fliers with University information to apartment complexes around campus and relayed students’ concerns to the EOC.  Robertson said he also spent time at Edward Gay apartments handing out water.”Students were grateful someone was just out there talking to them,” Robertson said. “Especially when someone from LSU shows up to check on them.”Robertson said SG was also a “major factor” in getting 459 Commons open after the storm. White said SG’s work during the storm was “very, very important.””They kept us in touch with the constituency that otherwise we would have had a difficult time reaching,” White said. Now that the storm has passed and the University is beginning to return to normalcy, Robertson said he wants to focus on his pre-hurricane goals. “I made sure to tell my staff that we are not going to let the hurricane dominate our semester,” Robertson said. “We’re going to get everything done that we planned on before the hurricane.”Robertson wouldn’t say specifically what he believed SG should have done differently.”You can always improve,” Robertson said. “We learned from Katrina, and now we learned from Gustav. We stepped up really well, and it’s just going to improve over time.”—-Contact Katie Kennedy at [email protected]