Student fashion designers and stylists showcased their talent at the Styles of Paradise Charity Fashion Show on Friday night. Several hundred guests attended the event held at the University Union Ballroom at Sacramento State University. The Student Fashion Association (SFA) event benefitted the Autism Center for Excellence (A.C.E.) in honor of April’s National Autism Awareness Month. Some last minute rehearsals took place on and around the runway. Several models practiced their walk and looked for places to stand, pose, pivot and turn as DJ Elliot Estes played in the background. Maria Serquen, SFA Events Coordinator, helped on the runway, backstage and other places as needed. Final pract

Chuck D is a rebel without a pause. The co-founder of seminal hip-hop group Public Enemy is a rapper, author and activist. He refers to himself as a "raptivist," and "an ambassador for hip-hop." Thursday night, D will give a free speech at Sacramento State, where he'll be talking about rap, race, technology and communication. The event will also be a celebration of Black History Month. D likes to talk. Given that he writes a blog, tours the world on speaking gigs, and owns the SLAMjams music label, which recently threw together an iTunes album for Haiti, he is surprisingly available. He called me for an unscheduled interview, just a few minutes after I e-mailed him. "You can't go throug