Johnny Lechner
Johnny Lechner is a perpetual student at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. His claim to fame (or infamy) is that he has been attending college since 1994. After 13 years of college, and a year studying abroad in Europe, Lechner planned to graduate on Saturday, May 19, 2007 with a triple major/quadruple minor.[1] According to Lechner, however, he will be staying for yet another year and will not graduate until 2008.[2]
Lechner was also set to graduate in 2006, but withdrew his application to graduate five days before the scheduled May 13 2006 ceremony. He stated that he wanted to spend a year studying abroad.[3] At the moment, he has the credits to graduate with degrees in Communications, Liberal Studies, Health, Education, Women's Studies, and Theater.
Lechner has been dubbed the "real-life Van Wilder". The state passed legislation instituting a so-called "Lechner Law/slacker tax" on long-term students, so Lechner pays double the standard in-state tuition, so he essentially pays for his entire education out-of-pocket (as opposed to getting in-state discounts). Indeed, in 2007 a Wisconsin state senator described Lechner as "exactly what is wrong with the educational system," which sparked controversy within the state senate quarters. [4]