Samantha Sperry's college career may end after just one day in the classroom.

Sperry, a freshman starting her first semester at the University today, serves as a combat medic for a U.S. Army Reserve unit based in Erie. If war erupts in the Persian Gulf, she said she feels certain her unit will be called into active duty immediately.

"I could attend class Monday morning and then Tuesday I could be out of class for good," Sperry said.

The United Nation's Jan. 15 deadline expires at midnight and if Iraq does not withdraw from Kuwait, Sperry said she thinks there is a "99.9 percent chance we are going to war.

"If we would go to war soon, there's a very good chance I'd be out of here with my Erie unit."

Sperry is one of an estimated 500 to 700 reservists enrolled at the University, said Robert Dunham, vice president of academic services.

Since the Aug. 2 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, at least 95 University students suspended their enrollment because their reserve units were activated.

During the Fall Semester, 60 students withdrew from the University system. Warren Haffner, the University's registrar, said about half of those students had been enrolled at University Park. An additional 35 students, including 19 from University Park, requested military leaves of absence for the Spring Semester.

Haffner said more reserves may have been called to duty, but they did not register for spring classes. Reserves who follow the University's guidelines for withdrawing will find it easier to re-register upon their return, Haffner said.

If Sperry's unit is activated, she said she would have to report to Erie within a day or a week, depending on the circumstances.

"In a war situation, I think that (the response time) could be thrown out the window," Sperry said. "It would be pretty immediate."

Her unit would then report for two months of desert training before being dispatched. "Basically they're trying to get your body ready for different weather, different conditions," she said.

Sperry, who celebrated her 19th birthday Saturday, said she joined the military with her brother, who is now 21 years old. She finished basic training in October and her medic training just three weeks ago.

Sperry began boot camp just days before Saddam Hussein's troops rolled into Kuwait, making it "probably the worst time to go through training," she said. Drill instructors intent on toughening the new recruits told the women trainees they were "going to war and going to die," Sperry said. "It's unbelievable pressure. We had a lot of people going crazy -- literally.

"People did anything and everything to get out," Sperry said, explaining that several women intentionally got pregnant in order to exempt themselves from duty.

If war breaks out in the Persian Gulf, Sperry said, "I wish I could be the great patriot and say I would be there . . . " Then her voice trailed off.

"I know I'm not ready to die about this," she said. "I don't think (President) Bush really understands what he's getting himself into."

However, Sperry said her sense of obligation extends beyond the president and beyond the nation's interest. She said her devotion lies with her brother and with the friends she has made through the reserves and at boot camp.

"If I ever backed down, I wouldn't feel I was backing down from my country, but from my friends," she said. "I couldn't do that to them.

"In basic training we learned if one person screws up, you all screw up."