Nation IN BRIEF : RHODE ISLAND : Snub of NOW Chief Is Reconsidered

The president of the University of Rhode Island has had a change of heart after coming under fire for passing over NOW President Patricia Ireland as commencement speaker. “I don’t have anything against Ms. Ireland. She’s a fine person, leader of an important national organization,” Robert Carothers said. On Thursday, baseball’s National League president withdrew as the school’s commencement speaker after learning that Ireland had been rejected. Leonard Coleman Jr. declined to give the speech because he didn’t want to exacerbate the campus dispute.