Athletic director Mr. Tom Arria can be found at many sporting events supporting the Falcons, as well as around the school, interacting with students throughout the day. To some, Mr. Arria is a fan favorite, but to others he is a more enigmatic figure. Due to a general air of mystery around the CRLS athletic department, the Register Forum thought it would be valuable to sit down with Mr. Arria to both get to know him, and allow him to make himself known.
The RF first asked Mr. Arria about his time at CRLS, getting his thoughts about both what change he has seen within the sports community at CRLS and also what change he thinks is still to come. Mr. Arria said, “I think we’ve made a lot of good changes in terms of the accessibility of the programming and registration… every year we’ve seen an increase of students who register, which is really good to see.” In terms of the future, Mr. Arria commented, “I always say I’m open to hear from our students and our community in terms of what students have interest in.”
Talk then turned to Arria’s status as a mini-celebrity among CRLS students; notably, one student dressed as Mr. Arria for Halloween. When asked what about himself is so captivating, Mr. Arria was at a loss for ideas, saying, “I hope it has something to do with that students know that I really care about what we do here, and that I have grown very fond of our school and the students and coaches and people that are in it.”
Mr. Arria also commented on the recent change in leadership at CRLS, with Mr. Smith’s promotion to Chief Operating Officer (COO) of CPSD and Mr. Gately-Gehant taking over as interim principal. “Adapting has been very easy… Ultimately, both [Mr. Smith and Gately-Gehant] want what’s best for CRLS and what’s best for the students.”
The RF thought it best to touch on the perceived gender inequality within CRLS sports. There are rumors among students of unequal funding based on gender, as well as of Mr. Arria himself not attending girls sporting events as often as boys. Arria made it very clear that, in terms of funding, the CRLS athletic department funds each boys’ sport the same as its girls’ counterpart; doing otherwise would be a violation of Title IX of the United States 1972 education amendments. Mr. Arria even encouraged students to come talk in his office about funding.
As for his alleged absence from girls sporting events, Mr. Arria told the Register Forum, “I go to hundreds and hundreds of games a year. That may have happened, there’s a good possibility that it did happen. There’s also a good possibility that I stayed for a girls game and left for a boys game [that came after]”.
He said his family life makes him more aware of the gender gap in sports. “I have three daughters myself, [so] I believe I’m supportive of girls’ sports. I want my daughters to grow up in a world where they’re treated the way I want anybody else’s children to be treated.” Mr. Arria made it clear in the RF interview that he is, above all else, passionate about student participation in sports and about CRLS Falcons’ success–not only in terms of wins and losses.
