Eternal Student Or Kegger Lover?
This column was written by CBS News Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.
There's a story on the front page of the Times today about a kid in Wisconsin who has been going to college for 12 years. He has twice as many credits as he needs to graduate and is on his fourth or fifth major.
When I was in college, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, there was a stigma to staying around for a fifth year. It usually meant you were too wasted to graduate on time.
In recent years it's become quite common to take more than four years to graduate. But, Johnny Lechner has taken the pursuit his liberal arts degree to new a new level. He actually has sponsors and a book deal and a documentary crew following him around to chronicle what its like to live the college life when you're 29-years-old.
It's not clear if Mr. Lechner just doesn't want to stop going to keggers or if he really is in noble pursuit learning. Twelve years in college though? I hope he's not still bringing his laundry home.
Harry's daily commentary can be heard on manyCBS Radio News affiliates across the country.
By Harry Smith