Trumbull student and supporters face pushback over conservative club

Trumbull student Chris Pettinella has faced strong resistance from students to administrators at Trumbull high school. In a post that went viral on Facebook, Pettinella can be seen in a Youtube video speaking before the Trumbull board of education.

“I had an advisor, and was going to present to the dean of students,” Chris said, “and he told me multiple times he didn’t have time for me.” Chris met with the dean on Friday, December 16th.

To start a club at Trumbull high school you need an advisor and 15 signatures from other students. It appears that while there are teachers that have refused to be the advisor, over 100 students have signed on.

Chris’s full comments can be seen here:

One history teacher lent his backing initially; it is suspected he faced enough peer pressure to step aside from the advisory role. Other teacher prospects are being considered, but the road remains an uphill one.

Chris first tried to get a conservative club started in the fall of 2021; now, he says, he is simply trying to form a club for American patriotism, rather than something political.

The core beliefs of the Trumbull public school system states, among others, “We believe that there is strength in diversity and that all individuals are worthy of our respect and dignity.”

Trumbull Public Schools Equity Position statement also reads in part,

“We recognize that routinely examining outcomes and practices in order to reveal and address factors that may contribute to differential outcomes among our students is critical to ensuring that all students experience success.” [emphasis added]

For the upcoming board of education meeting, Chris is conducting a survey of 100+ students for knowledge of historical events, such as 9/11 and Pearl Harbor.

Chris updated the Tribune on the status of his club and remarked this evening via text,

“Today I talked to [the dean of students] and miraculously all of a sudden we have teachers interested in the club.

I think after I made it public there’s a lot of heat on them and they are kind of forced to help me but all seems good and the club should be on within the next week.

The administration has been made a joke, they look stupid. Today we talked a whole lot of nothing. I was in there for 25 minutes and I didn’t learn anything new — they basically just said how they were going to help me get the club.

Hypocrisy, when they are in trouble now they will help.”