Dear trustees, I am the tuition-paying parent of a new student at UVM and completely aghast at the decision by the Board of Trustees to throw money at a non-legal, moral issue. Grow up. Office romances happen — in the White House and next door. If the involved parties are too humiliated, they will leave of their own accord. If students refuse to sign up for classes, reduce their pay. If their peers complain, they are welcome to depart, too, and forego their benefits — I think you will be amazed how suddenly quiet the issue will get. The funds you are throwing around are public taxes, paid tuition or earned through grants and research funding, not earmarked to payoff moral violators. If moral compliance is the new policy, add a contract clause to revoke it for moral turpitude. It’s fairly common in situations you are experiencing. In case you’ve missed it, there is a citizen revolt going on over heedless and unaccountable spending habits by public trustees. Your actions are just one more page in a long list of public mistrust and mismanagement — you are no better than the squabbling fools in Washington. Perhaps it is endemic to your ilk — it is hard to respect spending money you haven’t earned. In the future, please ask yourself this: Would you make the same decision if it were your own wallet and not mine? Sincerely, Jeff L. Sadler Parent of Class of 2015 student