Marquette Alum Makes Bachelor History
The lack of diversity on “The Bachelor”, “The Bachelorette” and “Bachelor in Paradise” is apparent to any die hard fan. For more than 30 seasons of the franchise, white people continually are giving the roses and receiving them, while others are kicked off early in the competition.
During this current season, Nick Viall’s contestants were a more diverse group than ever, including eight non-white contestants out of the 30. Although the diversity is only slightly more than 25%, it is the most ever in “Bachelor” history. This was most likely caused by outside criticism on the racial issue.
One of those eight women is Rachel Lindsay. Lindsay currently has made it all the way to the final four, the farthest any African American person has gone. She has been a fan favorite since day one, getting the first impression rose at the first rose ceremony. This meant, out of all the women there that first day, Viall saw the most potential with her. Lindsay is a lawyer, who graduated from our very own Marquette University law school in 2011. She currently practices law in her hometown of Texas.
Due to recent reports, although Lindsay still technically is one of the competitors on “The Bachelor”, she is going to be the next “Bachelorette.” While many people were upset the news broke before she left the competition, an African American lead is what America wants and needs.
When non-whites aren’t seeing themselves on television, they feel as though they aren’t being represented in society and therefore, don’t matter. After 15 years of being on air, “The Bachelor” franchise has had no real range of contestants. Although making Lindsay the lead is a little late, progress is being made. Designating an African American lawyer as the “Bachelorette,” is sending a message that people, no matter their race, are beautiful, intelligent and deserve love.
I have never been more excited to watch a season of this show as I am for the next season of “The Bachelorette.” With Lindsay, I have an opportunity not only to cheer on a fellow Golden Eagle, but to witness diversity being expanded to millions of people every Monday night.