am i a gunner?

I've never heard that term before yesterday. I found out today that it's particular to the law school student who is an ass in class, hides material in the library, cuts out pages and blacks out lines in books, etc. Apparently, a very derogatory term.

So, by virtue of me being in a Law Preview class, does that make me a gunner? I was told I was not. I have good reason for taking this class. So do a lot of people. Today's Prof (Property) asked for some of the reasons people were taking Law Preview. Most people just wanted to not be knocked out by what's a whole new language and way of looking at the world. Some have been out of school for a long time and some wanted to lose the bad habits they made as undergrads.

I've been looking at the people who are in this class (and in others I have taken) and it's really true that you can find certain types anywhere, even if they don't qualify as gunners.

There's the eager beaver. I've gathered that these are the peeps who got into several law schools, think they are doing the one they pick a huge favor and make claims that they did no work and graduated magna and summa cum laude. Now, those mean nothing to me and I will stare as blankly at you as you will stare at me when I say I graduated with Upper Second Class Honors. So what? We're on equal footing from day one at law school, no matter what happened at undergrad.

So the eager beaver has to talk in class. He or she usually asks unformed questions, just for the sake of asking something, anything. And his or her voice gets just a little louder, to mask the nervousness and add some bravado. He or she must hover around the group of students who stop after class to ask the professor a question, regardless of whether he or she has a question of his or her own.

Then there the "unprepared" vs the actual unprepared person. The first makes it known that he is behind in the reading, didn't finish the assignment, watched reruns of "Seinfeld" instead of outlining, etc etc. All the time he is swotting like a motherfucker. The second actually doesn't do anything because ... well, I don't know why. The first slouches in class and rattles off eloquent answers when asked. The second sits up straight and tries to bullshit his way or answers his own questions instead of the professor's.

Then there's me. I sit, trying to follow, getting irritated with the people who start every sentence with "okay" or "so" and use "like" every third word. I cultivate my sense of superiority by not doing those things. I raise my hand when I have something to say and don't when I don't.

And, as I saw and heard for myself, there will be someone who pronounces Arkansas as Are-Kansas.