any gunners here? Forum

[Catsinthebag]

being active in class is not gunner, but the one who excessively spouts is

I agree, but I think a lot of people don't see the distinction, and are quick to label any active participator "gunner".

Does it really matter? Call me what you want, my behavior isn't going to hinge on someone else's opinion. I haven't taken a 1L class yet, but when I do have other classes I sit in the front row and put in effort - not to impress a teacher or other people, but I like to do the best that I can at whatever I do. Is that a gunner? Who cares? Maybe that's just my "going on 30" view?

lol

Nobody cares that you read and you're prepared, everyone expects that as the baseline. If "put in effort" means when you get called you have a response, then good, that's expected. But if it means raising your hand every class to offer your opinion, then yeah no one cares in class what you think, you're wasting everyone else's time, and if you'd like to talk to the professor, do it outside class.

Do your professors not solicit opinions? Many of mine do. I do get the sense that it annoys some classmates that the same people usually offer their opinion. When the professor is specifically asking us what we think on a certain topic I believe it is beneficial to me and to the class to participate. I usually wait for others to raise their hand, but after a period of awkward silence (giving others the chance to participate), I feel like why should I stop myself from participating just because I am pretty sure it annoys a few classmates. I am almost certainly a gunner in the eyes of a some in my class.

I guess my point is that I am also older and agree with the the idea that people should not let other people's shitty attitudes prevent them from participating in class, especially when it is solicited by professors. Also if a professor said something that is clearly confusing to most/many, why not ask for him/her to clarify? As long as it is on topic and not unduly holding up the class, it probably is more efficient for the prof. to clarify in class than have to explain it to each person individually during office hours.

None of my classmates consistently raise their hand to insert their opinion in class unless the professor explicitly asks for it. Does this happen at other schools? is that what being a gunner is?

I am similarly older. A big part of this - and what people are trying to tell you - is it's not about whether you have the right to raise your hand and participate every time, or most of the time, the professor asks for opinions. You're ability and right to opine isn't at issue here... Btw, at least 1L year, they don't ask for your opinion. This is about being socially well-adjusted and realizing that not every can is a should.

[Chris4943]

This is about being socially well-adjusted and realizing that not every can is a should.

That's fair.
The impression I constantly get from this forum though is that anyone who says one word, accidentally makes eye contact with a professor, answers a question without having to be physically threatened to do so, or sits anywhere but the farthest seat away from the professor regardless of if there are many empty rows between them, for the entire 3 years, is an asshole gunner who can't get over themselves.
There was a recent thread where people were incredulous at a couple kids who dared to scribble some notes during a presentation at an admitted students weekend. The nerve! Why I never! Good DAY sir!
No doubt my views will be readjusted when my sincere interest in thinking and talking about legal matters is pushed far past the breaking point as I start to disdain myself and my choice of profession, but I'm just not there yet so forgive me for not understanding.
I am curious though if there exists any rumor for whether being a gunner or a silent hater is at all indicative of academic success. In the book 1L the author claims that the silent people nobody ever heard of made law review while the gunners made completely random grades.

[acr]

Nope. No gunners on "TOP LAW SCHOOLS"

[KeYe88]

look at this video :https://youtu.be/QacL1ArgYZ8

gunners take any form

[bwh8813]

This is about being socially well-adjusted and realizing that not every can is a should.

That's fair.
The impression I constantly get from this forum though is that anyone who says one word, accidentally makes eye contact with a professor, answers a question without having to be physically threatened to do so, or sits anywhere but the farthest seat away from the professor regardless of if there are many empty rows between them, for the entire 3 years, is an asshole gunner who can't get over themselves.
There was a recent thread where people were incredulous at a couple kids who dared to scribble some notes during a presentation at an admitted students weekend. The nerve! Why I never! Good DAY sir!
No doubt my views will be readjusted when my sincere interest in thinking and talking about legal matters is pushed far past the breaking point as I start to disdain myself and my choice of profession, but I'm just not there yet so forgive me for not understanding.
I am curious though if there exists any rumor for whether being a gunner or a silent hater is at all indicative of academic success. In the book 1L the author claims that the silent people nobody ever heard of made law review while the gunners made completely random grades.

You will find that in law school, like every level "up" in education, it gives the ability to attempt to recalibrate social status. All of a sudden, someone who has been a nerd or a little socially inept now starts over and thinks they are "cool" - especially if they're straight from undergrad. Those are the people who come on message boards and degrade someone for jotting something down at admitted student day. They will be easy to spot in school, and likely when 1L rankings come out will be humbled to find that they are not as smart as they thought, and their social circle will become smaller every month as people tire of their annoying ways.

Even before you asked the question, I was going to offer that the silent and prepared student is more likely to find him/herself near the top of the class. They're also probably more socially aware and will benefit from that come employment time. I don't consider doing all reading and being prepared being a gunner. That's being a serious student. The gunner is the over-the-top try hard who focuses on the unimportant, or who interjects in everything. The gunner races up to the professor at the end of every class. They're often terribly inefficient in their preparation because they want everyone, and the prof, to know how smart they (think) they are. They're the people who come to a review session talking policy when the final is entirely issue spotting essays. Again, these people can be insufferable 1L year but are also usually quelled by the time rankings come out.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Gunner --> success correlation is pretty unpredictable. Two of the top 10 students in my class were the kind of people driving others nuts by offering lengthy philosophical analysis in crim law (one was super lovely outside of class though so people dealt with it). Plenty of others who did well only answered when called on (though they usually sounded smart/prepared when they did answer). Some people who had super extensive questions of the "BUT WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE" variety did very poorly. Some who said nothing ever did great, others poorly.

I should add that I don't think answering or even asking questions makes you a gunner, as long as you don't try to answer every single question asked or answer with statements like "in my experience with contracts...", or ask questions that torture the hypothetical or indulge your personal interests, rather than clarifying something you genuinely don't understand. I regularly volunteered to answer questions (I'm sure this is a shock /sarcasm), but usually no more than one a class, and I did it almost entirely because it made it much less likely you'd be cold-called when unprepared (not that it affects your grade if this happens but I just didn't like it).

I will say it wasn't a surprise to me which of the long-winded in my class did well, and which of the long-winded crashed and burned - you just can't tell much about the silent folks. But I also wasn't at a T14 so my school population was probably different too.

(I'll also add that mocking admitted students at ASWs becomes a lot more understandable once you're in law school.)