College Paid Speaker It (Briefly) Rejected Not to Sue

Pasadena City College paid in many ways for flip-flopping on its spring commencement speaker. The college received considerable publicity for revoking the invitation to Dustin Lance Black, the Oscar-winning screenwriter, when some officials feared the impact of a past scandal over a sex tape. Eventually, the college reconsidered and invited him back and he did speak. But The Los Angeles Times reported that the college paid Black $26,000 not to sue over the rescinded invite.