Brynn Bates
If students have been on social media in the last six weeks, they know about Joey Graziadei and this season of “The Bachelor.” With all the buzz surrounding the show, Oxford’s Roundtable on the Square is giving students a spot to gush over Graziadei.
After a rough couple of seasons of the ABC series, many fans of the show claim that Graziadei has put it back on their cultural radar.
“After a few seasons of flops, the franchise has been totally revived by Joey Graziadei,” Heather Schwedel reported on Slate.
Kendall Bower, a freshman exercise science major, echoed Schwedel’s thoughts.
“Everyone loves him,” Bower said.
This season has also seen an increase in participation from the contestants themselves as they take to social media to give their opinions after each episode, which has given students another way to enjoy the show.
“The girls (on the program) are all over social media, so it makes it so fun to watch,” Bower said. Adding to the new-season hype, Roundtable posted that the newest episodes are being streamed in the upstairs bar.
“It’s been a fun time,” Drew Maier, senior integrated marketing communications major and Roundtable bartender, said.
So, are students actually showing up to find out who receives a rose from Graziadei? Sophomore business major and Roundtable employee Gage Tietz explained that the average Monday crowd has grown.
“There are probably about 30-50 people on average, which has been good for a Monday,” Tietz said.
The event has brought in new clientele for Roundtable.
“We have never been here before this, but I like the concept a lot, and I think they should keep doing it,” freshman general business major Natalie Johnston said.
While the crowd that evening was sparse, with only eight girls in attendance, Maier said the previous Monday’s watch party had a significantly better turnout.
“There’s usually a lot of people here, the upstairs bar will be filled, and there’s always a few girls in the other room too,” Maier said.
Some students, such as freshman history major Kaylen Page, look forward to returning to Roundtable Mondays.
“I had no idea they did this every week, so I will be excited to come back and see how it is after spring break,” Page said.
The event is open to all 21+ fans of “The Bachelor” and will continue until the season’s conclusion in late March.
