Curtis Sliwa and other New York City Republican figures sat in the Clivner=Field Plaza on Oct. 28 and answered questions from students, mimicking the prove-me-wrong events that the late Charlie Kirk did on college campuses.
“Curtis is the kind of guy you’d meet on the subway and can have a normal conversation with,” Sliwa told The Ticker.
Michael Gianino, a 25-year-old Baruch sophomore and the president of Turning Point USA Baruch Chapter, wanted to get the Republican candidate on campus so that students could have a healthy discussion and debate. Gianino also strived to make republican students feel welcomed in a more “liberal” school.
The chapter has been recognized by the organization but not the school. Turning Point USA is hoping for the club to be established during the spring 2026 semester. The chapter already has 60 students interested.
During the talk, supporters of Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic frontrunner in the mayoral race, chanted “Mamdani” at the back of the plaza.
“I hear some people chanting all the way back there, which is kind of ironic; they didn’t come up to the mic,” Gianino said. “And then other people came up to me and told me after they did that, they kicked over a garbage can and broke it.”
Criticism and backlash were expected, and opposing views were discussed during the panel. Stephano Forte, the president of the New York Young Republican Club, explained that Republicans needed to be “loud and proud” about what they believed in.
“It’s definitely dangerous in a couple of different ways, but we want them to feel like they have somebody that has their back,” Forte said.
While Forte explained that his club does not have a safety protocol in place, it does have a buddy system for the team.
The club goes out all over the city to organize campaigns and build community with fellow New Yorkers.
When Sliwa ran for mayor in 2021, the club also supported him during his campaign.
Currently, Sliwa is in the third place in the polls, tracking only 11%. However, the main point of the talk was not to listen to what the polls were showing, as Forte believes they do not accurately represent NYC.
Although Sliwa is running on promises of public safety, transportation safety and affordable housing, he has not mentioned what he will do for CUNY students.
The New Deal for CUNY was introduced to the state Senate in 2021, but no decision has been made on whether more funding will be given to CUNY schools yet.
Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo, an independent mayoral nominee, have expressed their thoughts on the bill, while Sliwa has stayed silent.
When asked what he would do if elected, Sliwa said, “Well, to be honest, by the time I get elected, there’s so much missing in the city budget that’s been wasted and misspent, and has been built into the budget that isn’t dead. I’d have to do a spreadsheet first to see what we could even do to fulfill the initial promises that we made.”
