Sometimes a phone call can ruin a meal.

That?s what happened to Sacramento State student Narrmayet Taonus last Thursday morning when she found out she had been called to report for active duty with the Coast Guard.

The 24-year-old Petty Officer 3rd Class was eating breakfast at Denny?s when her cell phone rang.

“I lost my appetite when I heard,” Taonus said.

Since President Bush?s Sept. 13 order to mobilize up to 50,000 “citizen soldiers,” the Coast Guard has called 2,727 of approximately 8,000 reservists to active duty, according to the Department of Defense.

Taonus hung up the phone and started running through a mental checklist of what she needed to do before leaving civilian life to check-in at the 11th District Headquarters of the Guard in Alameda on Oct. 1: what needed to be done, who she needed to see about her classes, who to tell goodbye.

Concentrating on the technical details of preparing for duty made her feel calm again and in control.

“We?re beefing up security to protect you guys,” Taonus said. “I found out that I?ll be inspecting cargo ships. That should be cool.”Taonus, a junior majoring in photography, skipped the rest of her breakfast and drove to school. But instead of attending class she visited her faculty adviser, photography instructor Sharmon Goff, to figure out what to do about her academics.

They had talked about the possibility of a callup before, but it didn?t seem real. On Thursday, it was.

“She was so nice to me,” Taonus said of Goff. “She was really concerned and wanted to be sure that I took care of things before I left.”

Taonus hoped that she wouldn?t have to withdraw from classes, but was still uncertain about her academic status last Thursday afternoon. She hopes that she will be able to continue some of her photography coursework while serving. She is enrolled in 12 units at Sac State and three units at Sacramento City College.

“I?d like to be the exception to the rule and be somebody called to duty who can still get on with my life,” Taonus said.

With a little luck, she thought she might be able to return to Sacramento on weekends as long as she was stationed in the Bay Area.

Sac State Academic Advising Center Director Tom Griffith said the University is “sensitive to the issue” of military callup.

“When people tell us they need to withdraw from school, they usually have major life-changing things going on. We understand that,” Griffith said.

According to an Academic Advising Department fax, that policy allows for full refund of registration and tuition fees for “medical reasons, mandated military service or a required employment transfer” with appropriate documentation.

He encourages students like Taonus to apply for a leave-of-absence to maintain their catalog rights, an important thing when a student is ready to return to school.

Taonus was not certain when she would be coming home when she spoke to The State Hornet Thursday evening.

“I?ve heard from friends that it could be as little as two weeks. It could be a lot longer. I?m not getting my hopes up,” she said. “But I?m not worried. It?ll work out.”