Posted on 05/10/2006 11:56:47 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
WHITEWATER, WI (AP) -- His 12 years as an undergraduate have made Johnny Lechner a celebrity of sorts, so why not go for 13?
Lechner was expected to graduate at last from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater this spring, but instead he withdrew his application for graduation five days before commencement.
"I realized that if I went one more year, I could study abroad," Lechner said. "That's one thing I haven't done."
Lechner has had his story told in newspapers and network television shows, not to mention campus publications across the nation that have picked up stories from UW-Whitewater's student newspaper, The Royal Purple.
By this spring he had completed 234 college credits, or about 100 more than needed to graduate, and was taking seven more.
That qualified him for the so-called "slacker tax," instituted this school year by the UW Board of Regents to help cover the state subsidy for students who stay long past the usual four of five years to earn an undergraduate degree.
It calls for students who exceed 165 total credit hours or 30 more than their degree programs require - whichever is higher - to pay double tuition.
The 29-year-old Lechner, a Waukesha native, said he didn't start out to be a long-term student, but it just developed once he realized how much fun he was having at college.
Michelle Eigenberger, an editor at The Royal Purple, said Lechner may have achieved celebrity status, but most students are tired of it.
"It's getting old," she said. "For the sanity of the rest of the campus, we want him to get out of here."
Looks like Van Wilder...
I doubt it.
Not everyone has someone else to pay for it.
You just know that guy can roll a really tight spleef.
He must come from wealth, because who can afford to send one kid to college for 12 years?
"I'd like to hear what the members of his original entering class have to say about him now."
Let's type him into "Classmates.com" or one of those other loser HS reunion sites. ;) (Tee-Hee!)
"If it wasn't for my wife I'd be living in a trailer on the Tennessee River next to the boat dock with beanbags in the living room and a Futon on the floor."
So, ya'll have a double-wide now? LOL! Just kiddin'. :)
My husband lived like a pauper when I first met him, too. And he really didn't have to...most guys just don't care much about asthetics. He had the requisite "curb found" couch, the boards and bricks bookshelves (he did have "smart-guy books" though, so I cut him some slack), lamps without shades, not a single matching dish...
I remember the first meal he cooked for me, though. Fettuccini Alfredo, Steamed Patty Pan squash and some strawberry chocolate dessert. He was a Chef at the time and asked the woman who lived next door what he should do about his apartment before he invited me over for dinner. She said, "Clean sheets on the bed and a toilet clean enough to eat off of, and she should do your bidding." LOL!
It was almost true. I did appreciate that he cleaned the bathroom. ;)
My own husband is encouraging me to follow in the same path and I must admit that I've been giving it some thought. Once the kids are grown, why not?
Why wait? Find something you like and take classes when you can. Working full time makes it harder but with online classes and such, but even for working parents it can be easier to do now than just a few years ago.
Now I just need to follow my own advice and figure out a major to pursue for the next degree.
Oops. Wrong one. Here he is. Maybe.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=22467547
If that one didn't work, try this: http://www.myspace.com/johnnycollege
Van Wilder
Leisure Studies
http://www.johnnylechner.com/johnnycollegeblog.htm
Why am I not surprised? Oh, goody. Now we can all go rush to find out whether he wears boxers or briefs. < mega eye-rolling down here in Texas >
I know this 59-year-old hippie. He's divorced and he doesn't know how to cook or clean.
He has the spool and the dead plants.
Numerous veins of cobwebing high along the walls.
Refridgerator well stocked with beer, but scene marred by massive black trash bags leaking nearby.
And the ashtrays! I haven't seen so many cigarette butts jammed into plate sized ashtrays since I was in the Navy.
He's a good fellow though. He has a good heart. But the old lady and the ponytail are gone now and he doesn't have a clue as to what he's going to do. Says now that he wished he joined the military.
I silently agreed.
Thank You.
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