Advertisement Johnny Lechner’s a typical student at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Except he’s a 12th-year senior. That’s right, this year marks his 12th and final year of college comfort.
Lechner, who has earned 250 college credits, might have stayed in the womb even longer, but the Wisconsin Board of Regents is pushing him out. In 2004, they created a law that requires non-traditional students who have taken over 165 credits to pay double the tuition. Lechner got the not-so-subtle hint.
But it’s not what you’re thinking, Lechner says on his Web site. He’s not lazy or unmotivated. He’s done lots of volunteer work. He even earned straight A’s … once.
He’s a cool guy with a soft side. He’s “Animal House” morphed into “Old School.”
A genius at self-promotion, Lechner got himself on “The Late Show with David Letterman” and in The New York Times. People seem mesmerized by the guy.
So what if he owes $30,000 in student loans, a sizable down payment on a house? Maybe this real-life Van Wilder got it right, and the rest of us are shmucks. He’s living his dreams: playing guitar in a band, studying the “liberal arts,” serving food at Olive Garden.
Is Lechner an idiot savant, or just an idiot? I can’t decide.
Lechner seems like a perpetual Peter Pan, but he’s made college into a lucrative career. He got a deal endorsing Monster Energy Drink. A reality TV show is in the works. Lechner’s practically a celebrity (not the famous kind, but the kind that show up on “Hollywood Squares” or UPN).
Lechner’s story exaggerates the truth, but it’s still true. College isn’t all about the degree anymore. It’s a lifestyle.
Not everyone can, or should, squeeze college into four years.
Most students at UW-La Crosse don’t graduate in four years. Only 23.7 percent do. There’s a reason for that.
Working to pay for college. Double majoring. Internships. Studying abroad. Research projects. Extracurricular activities.
All are good reasons to stretch a college education, explained Diane Schumacher, executive director of enrollment services and registrar at UW-L.
Some students at UW-L, such as education and international relations majors, know from the start they won’t finish in four years.
Will the four-year plan become an anomaly, replaced by Lechner’s lackadaisical, laissez-faire lifestyle?
I hope not. But if we have our entire lives to work, and college is an investment in our future, why not stay a year or two longer, and do something productive? In a competitive job market, you’re almost required to go above and beyond.
Lechner might be odd, but the impulse to stay in school isn’t.
Jenny Dolan can be reached at jdolan@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8220.
