At 6 feet 4 inches, that's usually the reaction the 19-year-old gets from strangers. She's taller than her mother, father and most of her friends.

Lee, a University of Utah sophomore, says she hates the stereotypes that Asians are short or tall people should play basketball. She's Chinese-American and is a swimmer.

"I'm proud to be tall and Asian," she says. "It makes me unique."

Lee was one of five U. students who talked about Asian-American stereotypes during an hourlong panel Thursday on campus.

The student panel is part of Asian American Awareness 2005, a series of events from Oct. 21 through Nov. 10, focusing on Asian-American issues.

Sylvia Nunez, a U. business junior, says she doesn't like it when people automatically assume she's not American because she "looks like a minority."

"When people ask me, 'What are you?' I say, 'I'm a girl. I'm American,' '' she told the audience of 15 people.

Her mother is from Laos, located between Thailand and Vietnam, and speaks Lao. Her father is from El Salvador and speaks Spanish. Nunez doesn't speak either language and considers herself Laotian-American because that's the culture she knows best.

"We were born in America, so that makes me American," she says.

Dana Ngo, a U. pharmacy junior, moved with her family from Vietnam to Utah when she was 5 years old.

Growing up in West Valley City, she says her parents always taught her about her Vietnamese roots at home but she also had to learn how to be American at school.

"It was difficult to balance both," says Ngo, vice president of the university's Asian American Student Association.

In society, students say the most common Asian-American stereotype that drives them crazy is being the studious "model minority."

"They think we're all smart and good in math," Lee says. "Sometimes, people say, 'Oh, they got that job or got good grades because it's easy for Asians' - instead of saying they worked hard."

Students say teachers sometimes overlook Asian Americans who might be having problems in school because those students are supposed to be the smart ones. Asians and Pacific Islanders make up about 4 percent of the university's 30,000 students, according to school records.

"It can be stressful," says Nunez, the student association's president. "What if you don't excel in school, or you're not good in math, or your family doesn't have a high income or fancy car?"

Still, students say there are even stereotypes among Asian Americans. Asian Americans who don't know or deny their culture, traditions or language are called "twinkies" or "bananas" - meaning, they are yellow (Asian) on the outside and white on the inside.

"You look like an Asian, but you act white," Nunez says.

For Paul Fisk, who's Anglo and a quarter Japanese, discovering his Asian roots is crucial.

Fisk says his dad was born and raised in the Midwest, but he was not allowed to speak Japanese and told he needed to be American.

Fisk, a 24-year-old graduate student, says he wants to learn more about his Japanese culture and "who I am," starting with the history of Japanese Americans.

"Now, I'm just trying to find everything we lost," he says.

If you go

Here is a list of events for Asian American Awareness 2005:

* Tuesday: Asian American Issues Across Diverse Subjects, a faculty panel.

Noon to 1 p.m. University of Utah, Olpin Union, West Ballroom. Free

* Nov. 7: Seams of Color, a fashion show, noon, University of Utah, Olpin Union, Saltair Room. Free

* Nov. 10: Book signing by Eric Liu, author of The Accidental Asian and Guiding Lights: The People Who Lead Us Toward Our Purpose in Life, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. University Bookstore, 270 S. 1500 East. Free; Also, Passing it on: Race, Culture and Education. Keynote speaker: Author Eric Liu. 6:30 p.m., Salt Lake Main Library, Fourth Floor Auditorium, 210 E. 400 South. Free.

For information about the events above, call 581-5206.