For Maggie Chen Hernandez, Asian Pacific American women are more than the media makes them out to be.

And the Asian Pacific American Women's Conference, titled "Real Faces Banishing the Doll," held in the Union on Saturday, reinforced positive images of Asian Pacific American women's identity through a variety of workshops.

"The focus of this conference has to do with issues that impact and affect Asian Pacific American women," said Chen Hernandez, the conference co-coordinator and director of MSU's Multicultural Center. "It's important for Asian Pacific American women to come together and discuss issues that impact their lives."

Chen Hernandez said the public's lack of knowledge concerning Asian Pacific American women sparks the need for conferences like this.

"The general public has a relatively low awareness of issues that impact Asian Pacific American women," she said. "The theme is trying to challenge those notions."

No-preference freshman Kathy Ong said the conference did just that.

"It's good to be aware of your culture, especially for Asian women," Ong said. "You need to be aware of stereotypes surrounding Asian women like that we are all submissive and passive and smart."

While the participants broke from their workshops for lunch, Vickie Nam, editor of a compilation of short stories, poems and journal writings of Asian American adolescent girls titled "Yell-Oh Girls!," told audience members it's important to speak out.

"We rarely muster courage to express what's really on our minds in terms of identity," she said.

Nam relayed personal struggles of accepting her Korean heritage.

"I encountered my own hurdles, especially when I saw my reflection through other people's lives," she said. "Throughout junior high and high school, I didn't know what it meant to be Asian.

"I was intent on severing any connection I had with anything remotely Korean," she said.

When Nam recognized the importance of her identity and culture, she began to realize the problems plaguing the Asian Pacific American community.

"Too often we are excluded from dialogue because Asians aren't viewed as the model minority," she said. "People don't see Asians as having problems or opinions."

Nam told audience members about the importance of making their voices heard.

"In this country where so many minorities are vying for attention, Asian people need to speak up, speak out and speak often," she said. "My hope is that you will each help each other redefine your own words in your own terms."