"Professional" College Student Johnny Lechner

This must be some sort of record. Amazingly, Johnny Lechner has been taking college classes for 11 years and has yet to graduate: (May 10, 2006- Please see the latest update at the bottom of this page, the comment counter mistakenly shows "0." Press the link and read them all; consider adding your own.)

JohnnyLechner.com, [sic] who is 28, has been an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater [website here] for 11 years. He was going to graduate in May. Word of this spread across campus. The school's newspaper, the Royal Purple, ran a story with the headline: "Whitewater's own 'Van Wilder' to graduate."

Not long after the story appeared, it occurred to JohnnyLechner.com that the only thing he hadn't done in college -besides receive a diploma - is run for president of student government. So he's putting off graduation for another year and seeking office. Elections are this Wednesday and Thursday. He's running on his vast undergraduate experience; the major plank in his platform is that, if elected, he would do what he could to get someone to open a 24-hour restaurant in Whitewater.

Concerning his name: It's Johnny Lechner, but hardly anyone calls him "Johnny" or "Lechner." It's either "Johnny Lechner" or "Johnny Lechner.com." He is seeking office under the name he prefers: JohnnyLechner.com.

He no longer qualifies for student loans or in-state tuition. His adviser recently asked him why he doesn't just graduate. Why he would want to is the more difficult question for him to answer. His earliest class is 12:30 p.m. He goes to bed when he wants (about 4 a.m.), wakes up when he wants (about 10 a.m.), hangs out with his friends, dates women who are much younger. He hasn't dated a woman his own age in years.

Would you believe that this guy has 250 credits? This is 130 credits more than the typical student needs in order to graduate with a bachelor's. The article didn't mention how he manages to pay for his jobless "lifestyle."

The election was held last Wednesday and Thursday. We are looking forward to learning the results.

Some might say that going through life staying-up late, sleeping all day, and taking a class now and then beats workin. We wouldn't know.

Via: E.I.A.

Update: (05/10/06) The Chicago Tribune reports that Lechner has no intentions of graduating and is looking forward to another fun-filled year. CNN has more, including his most recent photo. --------------------------See our latest education-related entries right here.