Driven, but bad drivers. Intelligent, but nerdy. Proud, but culturally disconnected.

The list of stereotypes toward Asians is full of positives and negatives. But some Asian students have found that these generalizations are nothing more than an annoyance.

The first and most popular of the stereotype that came to mind for Ariel Zhang, senior, is that all Asians are excellent students.

“I feel like people ask me for help expecting me to know things in school,” Zhang said. “Just because I’m Asian doesn’t mean I was born with knowledge. Asians have to learn like everyone else.”

In 2009, Asians accounted for 5.1 percent of the Rockwood School District enrollment, while they only accounted for 1.9 percent in all Missouri public schools. That same year, Asians in Rockwood boasted a 98.2 percent graduation rate, compared to a 95.2 percent graduation rate overall.

“I’m not a normal Asian,” Zhang, said. “I’m not top 10 in my class, and I think I’m a good driver. There‘s always the exception.”

Despite considering herself an exception to the stereotype, Zhang said she is still not immune to it.

“I didn’t choose to be Asian, but I do choose how I act,” Zhang said.

Zhang said she sometimes finds it frustrating that Asians are so frequently stereotyped, and said people should get to know others before judging them.

“As far as minority stereotypes are concerned, Asians are a big target,” Katie Upchurch, junior and president of Diversity Alliance said. “People expect them all to be really smart.”

Amy Doyle, sponsor of Diversity Alliance, agreed that Asian students are frequently stereotyped.

“There’s some evidence to support certain stereotypes,” Doyle said. “But people need to respect the individual.”

In fact, several prestigious universities across the nation had high percentages of Asian students this year: 23 percent at Berkeley University, 26 percent at MIT, 23 percent at Stanford and 17 percent at Harvard.

“A lot of it is positive,” Doyle said. “But anytime you pigeonhole someone into a particular category, if they don’t fit in, they feel left out.”

Kristy Shang, junior and first-generation Taiwanese, takes a simple approach to these stereotypes.

“If you know me, then you know what kind of person I am,” Shang said.

Shang said there are certain things she does, like play the piano and excel in school, that might fit the stereotype. But there are others, like running track, that wouldn’t fit the stereotype at all.

“The things I do don’t have to do with my race,” Shang said. “I do them because I want to.”

Maggie An, sophomore, also finds that people sometimes judge her based on stereotypes.

“I take AP Calc BC, and people will be like, ‘Of course you take that, you’re Asian,’” Maggie An, sophomore, said.

An said she disregards the stereotype generally, but noticed that her AP Calc BC class does have an Asian majority. The class is composed of only 10 students, six of whom are Asian.

“It’s still not right to assume things about a person based on race,” An said. “Just don’t judge an Asian by their cover.”