Uneasy calm after a storm

Harvard watchers have not been quite sure what to make of the quiet on campus this fall after president Larry Summers's comments on women's ''intrinsic aptitude" for science in January sparked a semester of turmoil, including a vote of no confidence by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the resignation of a Harvard trustee. Has the president regained his stride? Are Summers critics just waiting for a new gaffe on which to pounce? Last week proved some interesting, though still confounding, clues. First, Summers released a whopping 26-page letter updating the community on pretty much every single development in the university -- from planning for the new Allston campus to the renovation of a women's history museum -- while managing not to say one new thing. Some professors wondered if it was a defensive response to the sentiment that his agenda is paralyzed, but a more generous view would be that he was trying to come through on his promise to be a better listener and consult more with the faculty. Summers did say in the letter that ''In the wake of events during the first half of 2005" he has met with many professors, students, staff, and alumni ''soliciting views . . . on how we can most effectively address major challenges facing the University." He said he was writing to ''invite your thoughts." Then, Thursday, the student newspaper, The Crimson, quoted anonymous sources saying that until Summers was weakened by the crisis over his comments on women, he had been planning to fire arts and sciences dean William C. Kirby, leader of the school that has been the center of attacks on the president. The article said Summers is still thinking of asking Kirby to step down. (Kirby's spokesmen declined to comment to us, while Summers's spokesman, in a statement, mentioned several of Kirby's projects as dean ''in which he has the full and continuing support and confidence of the president.") We've been hearing all year about the frosty relations between Summers and Kirby -- who is a fairly unpopular administrator himself, but still inspires far more loyalty in his school than does the president -- but seeing the story in black and white has renewed talk among the faculty.

TUFTS PRIZE -- We recently mentioned Daniel Drezner, the University of Chicago professor whose failure to win tenure raised questions about whether he was penalized for his popular blog. Turns out Drezner is now coming to our neck of the woods; he has accepted a tenured job offer at the Fletcher School for international affairs at Tufts University. ''Fletcher is an excellent public-policy school for what I study, and they actually like the fact that I write for a wider audience on occasion," Drezner wrote on his blog recently.

FELIPE'S DRAW -- Some movers and shakers among Harvard students have taken up the battle flag for Felipe's Taqueria, the popular eatery on Mount Auburn Street that is seeking to extend its hours, most notably from 2 to 4 a.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Jeffrey Kwong, the student liaison to the City of Cambridge, submitted a lengthy letter of support on behalf of the Undergraduate Council last month to the Cambridge License Commission. In it, Kwong calls the popularity of Felipe's ''unprecedented." He recounts how after an event celebrating a new 24-hour library, ''the lure of Felipe's food drew one-fourth of the undergraduate class . . . a one-block line formed around Felipe's almost an hour after midnight." Harvard student enthusiasm, though, may have met its match in Andrea M. Boyer, Cambridge's chief licensing investigator. On Oct. 14, Boyer observed Felipe's employees selling burritos out of a bin outside the restaurant at 2:15 a.m. -- past the licensed closing hour. The licensing commission's executive officer, Elizabeth Lint, said the investigator's finding is likely to prove pivotal. She said it is ''highly unlikely" the commission will extend the hours given that ''they are not abiding by the current hours." A disciplinary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 29. Currently, Cambridge permits just a handful of restaurants to remain open past 2 a.m., including, two 24-hour Dunkin' Donuts and Hi-Fi Pizza, according to Lint.

LABOR FIGHT-- Harvard, where students staged a sit-in for a living wage in 2001, may once again become the target for high-profile labor activism if its current contract with janitors expires on Tuesday without an agreement. Peter Rider, SEIU Local 615's chief negotiator, said members were insulted by an offer from Harvard last week to boost pay by 50 cents an hour each year for five years. The union is planning a rally outside a Larry Summers's alumni event tomorrow, and may hold a strike authorization vote Thursday (which wouldn't mean they'd necessarily strike soon, but that the members would give their union that option.) The union says Harvard pays its janitors about 20 percent less than do Boston University, MIT, and Boston College, and employs far fewer full-time janitors. In the last contract, Harvard said it would work toward a staff that's 60 percent full time, but it's still hovering at 50 percent. Spokesman Joe Wrinn said Harvard can't create a new full-time position until two part-time jobs open up. However, Rider said eight janitors working in Harvard's planning and real estate buildings were recently reduced from 40 hours a week to 37.5 hours, while two more part-timers were brought in. Harvard said its janitors get better benefits than their counterparts at other schools.

Comments? Tips? E-mail campus@globe.com.