As a graduate student and course instructor who teaches most of his classes at Folwell and Nicholson Halls, IâÄôve met with many students over the years at the nearby Dinkydome. In recent weeks, however, spending time there has been anything but pleasant. Wednesday, for example, as I walked into the dome with one of my students, I was literally overpowered by the noise level from the construction being undertaken there. This was only the latest of many such occurrences: just last week I had to avoid rain that was dropping from the leaky roof; the week before I had to walk through clouds of dust just to order a coffee. My student and I simply went elsewhere for our meeting. For us, it was no great inconvenience. However, for the DinkydomeâÄôs current tenants, whose leases donâÄôt expire until 2009 or 2010, the situation is a grave one indeed. The various impediments âÄî noise, dust, leaks, etc. âÄî are taking their toll on these small businesses. Anyone can see that there are far fewer people patronizing their establishments than in previous years. The situation reveals a serious lack of ethics on the part of the DinkydomeâÄôs new owner, Kelly Doran. Forced to honor the leases that his tenants signed with the previous owners, Doran seems to be doing everything in his power to make life in the dome impossible. When asked by The Minnesota Daily about the disruptions his construction was causing small business owners, he simply replied: âÄúUnfortunately, some of these people are going to be displaced. ThatâÄôs just the way the world works sometimes.âÄù In these difficult economic times, it is sad to see a local developer, one who in 2006 ran for the DFL gubernatorial nomination, no less, exhibit such a callous attitude to those with less money and power than himself. Cory Stockwell University student and instructor