HUNTER COLLEGE–It was a chilly November afternoon in Central Park, and before his class at Hunter College, the potential next mayor of New York City needed to record himself crunching leaves.
Despite us both being students at Hunter, I’ve never encountered Kyle Gutierrez, 21, until I recently heard through the grapevine about his intentions to campaign. I was overwhelmed with curiosity. What 21-year-old runs for mayor? Surely, someone who takes himself way too seriously, with delusions of grandeur. On Instagram, mutual friends posted photos with him at baseball games and house parties, sporting leather boots and cropped tops. On LinkedIn, his profile picture is a mirror selfie of him in a suit, and his header is an Arctic Monkeys album cover.
However, my curiosity wasn’t at all satiated when I met with Gutierrez on the third floor of Hunter’s West Building. Immediately, he went for a hug. On the outside, he was just like any other student on campus. A fuzzy sweater, well-loved sneakers, and curly black hair with painted white nails. But unbeknownst to most of his over 20,000 peers, his grand ambitions may impact all of their lives. He wants to become the youngest and first-ever Independent mayor of New York City.
