Rob Santos

Greetings, my fellow statisticians, data scientists, and math geeks. May we see a spring season that blossoms with health, tolerance, and friendship.

I was so hopeful we had turned a page in the USA with the rollout of the vaccine and the downturn in new infections and death. I also looked forward to early bluebonnet fields here in Texas. Their steepled, dark blue blooms often adorn the landscape in early February.

But as so many springtime stories have unfolded, this year brought storms. The February deep freeze in Texas left millions without power and, like me, days of shoveling snow into bins because there was no running water. And any hope for early wildflowers was summarily dashed. In the meantime, COVID variants emerged and are now present in most states, CDC guidelines are not being followed consistently, and a subgroup of the population continues to eschew vaccination.

Then this happened: On March 16, with Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month quickly approaching (May) and in the midst of National Women’s History Month (March), we witnessed and now must cope with the horrendous attack against Asian women and others in Atlanta, Georgia. And as we all know, this incident is but the latest in a continuing saga of violence and hate against Asians, as well as African Americans, Latinx people, Native Americans, the LGBTQ+ population, women, immigrants, Jews, and others.

The three presidents of the American Statistical Association issued the following joint statement March 19 condemning the senseless atrocity:

There may be some who wonder about the relevance of these issues appearing in a statistical monthly newsletter, specifically the President’s Corner. In my mind, they have never mattered more to our association membership, to our statistical community, and to our society. Here’s why:

Statistics, statistical theory, and mathematics are powerful tools. They have proved foundational in the advancement of technology and society, especially since the new millennium. And just as statistics can be used for social good, they can be misused, distorted, and adulterated. In fact, we have seen this with COVID reporting in just this past year.

Equally concerning is that statistical methods can be rigorously applied, yet their results may be misinterpreted in the absence of a proper lens or context within which to consider them when ­generating insights. By examining the last half century of crime statistics, for instance, one would observe that people of color—especially young African American and Latinx males—disproportionately go through the criminal justice system and are incarcerated.

If you are arrested and convicted of a crime, you deserve to do time, right? But such a simplistic, narrow lens fails to account for the broader context of institutional racism in society. There is ample factual evidence that people of color are profiled for police searches and juries are more prone to conclude guilt in the face of exculpatory and/or insufficient evidence. Moreover, judges hand down more severe sentences to defendants of color relative to whites and they are not provided the same reentry opportunities.

Without the proper grounding of historical context of racism in our society, criminal justice statistics can easily be misinterpreted. And this is just one of many policy areas that profoundly affect our nation. Plus, it does not touch the social determinants of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” that include living wages, educational opportunities, access to quality health care, affordable housing, and so on. Thus, context matters in the interpretation of statistics.

The events of March 16 illustrate that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, as well as Asian immigrants, historically and increasingly suffer at the hand of racism, being routinely stereotyped, harassed, assaulted, and ignored as the vibrant and valuable contributors to our society they are. To be clear, this happens to our Asian statisticians just as it does the general Asian population.

How do we know all this? It is through statistics generated from administrative records; surveys and big data from federal, state, and local governments; and commercial and social media sources. But statistics alone—in the absence of context, cultural awareness, and (yes) ethical values—can be terribly misinterpreted.

This is why the statistics profession can benefit greatly from embracing and acting upon principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. We need diverse voices, perspectives, interpretations, and leadership in our statistical community and our society overall, which is why the ASA has commissioned an Anti-Racism Task Force to examine our policies, practices, products, and outreach efforts. We must be the leaders we are and lead by example.

Being a capable statistician is relatively easy once you master the math, understand the theory, and can execute the computations. Being an effective statistician, on the other hand, involves valuing and embracing diversity, cultural relevance, inclusion, and equity and offering support to all colleagues while concurrently being statistically astute. Being effective is much more challenging, yet ever so rewarding. My wish is that all ASA members aspire to be effective statisticians. We need to help each other to make this happen.

Getting back to the events of the day, our Asian colleagues and the Asian communities across the USA are hurting. In the spirit of my presidential-year initiative of “Building Community,” I encourage you to reach out to your Asian colleagues and provide support, camaraderie, and friendship to help them and yourselves through these harrowing times.

Spring has sprung. The storms will pass and things will get better for us all, especially if we support each other and show we care. Let’s be optimistic. And, thankfully, the bluebonnets will once again blanket our Texas meadows.

Be well, everyone.