Queen said that the advertisement itself was not ultimately that important in his decision, citing instead a philosophical incompatibility between the Summer School and the bartending course.

“Taking bartending doesn’t fall high on the priority of human needs as studied by psychologists over the last 100 years,” he said. “We don’t feel that’s up there with fans, linens and clean clothes,” some of the other services provided by HSA to Summer School students.

“If HSA is creating an impression that the bartending course is an offering of the University, we’d like to correct that impression,” he added. “If we have to say yes to the question, ‘Is bartending taught to Summer School students?’ then we have explaining to do.”

With the major miscommunications from his e-mail correspondence with Queen finally ironed out, and HSA assenting to the dean’s requests, Gupta said the course would not suffer greatly.

“I think there was a misunderstanding, in that the Summer School was under the impression that the course exists solely to enroll Summer School students, when in fact Summer School students tend to comprise approximately 15 percent of the people that enroll,” he said.

—Staff writer Simon W. Vozick-Levinson can be reached at vozick@fas.harvard.edu.