International students are vital

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Astoria: During the spring and summer, visa exemptions under the Student Exchange and Visitor Program allowed many international students to conduct research and study during quarantine, remaining connected to their U.S. institutions. On July 6, however, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a decision to end temporary visa exemptions for international students whose upcoming coursework will be entirely online this fall. International students are now forced to choose between their health and continued study at U.S. universities.

Our academic institutions’ research and learning depend on international collaboration. They also depend on international students’ tuition funds. American students will be adversely affected, as their tuition will likely be raised if the funds from international students are lost. Our academic institutions are already jeopardized by impending budget cuts and tuition hikes that have come with the coronavirus pandemic. I call upon all NYC representatives and senators to oppose this senseless policy, which will further devastate academic communities in the U.S. and especially in NYC. Lisa Karakaya

adjunct assistant professor, Queens College

Cheater

Woodland Park, N.J.: President Trump is threatening to withhold funding from schools that do not reopen, ignoring the safety of students and teachers. He says that learning by computer is not as good as learning in the classroom. It’s also probably not as good as paying someone to take a test for you, something with which Mr. Trump is very familiar.

John Dent

Other lives matter

Bronx: I am a 70-year-old woman who has lived in the Bronx all my life. It seems every time I pick up your newspaper, all I see is “Black Lives Matter.” Now they are painting murals on our streets. I find this very disturbing. Where are the murals for 9/11 victims? Do not misunderstand me. What that police officer did to George Floyd was wrong, and he should be severely punished. But there have been many other lives that have been taken, and I do not see any murals on streets for them.

Frances J. Boffa

White heat

Ozone Park: I would like to know how many murals Mayor de Blasio is going to paint that say, “White Lives Matter.” I think what he is doing is racist. He is going to pay police officers overtime to protect these so-called

murals? What did he do for the business owners who had their locations emptied by looters? Bill Folz Sr.

Drive me crazy

Clark, N.J.: Re “New BLM mural unveiled in Harlem” (July 3): Considering the variety of paint used on protest road markings at Foley Square, does this paint have sufficient anti-skid characteristics to avoid excessive vehicular wheel spin and reduced braking performance in dry and wet conditions? Does overpainting invalidate road markings? Do lanes no longer exist? Will negotiating city streets be more confusing than ever? William T. Fidurski

We’ve hit a wall

Manhattan: Words matter. I notice your writers use the word “mural” to describe artworks and slogans, which are painted on the streets. Here is the definition from my dictionary: “mural (n.) painting on a wall…short for mural painting ‘a painting executed upon the wall of a building’ (1850), from mural (adj.) ‘pertaining to a wall or walls’ (mid-15c.)”

Carol Ann Rinzler

City of reason

Manhattan: To Voicer Phyllis Herschkowitz: Yes on erecting a statue to Lillian Wald. She truly deserves the honor. Another great New York woman who deserves a statue, and who is ignored by the leftist race warriors running the city, is Ayn Rand. She tirelessly promoted the ideals of logic and reason that made New York the greatest city in the world. Joseph McCluskey

Seeing orange

Wallington, N.J.: The Daily News has become very disappointing. The continual bashing of our President Trump, who is trying his best in these trying times, is bad enough. Where is the support for our leader? Ronnie Deckert

Medical records

San Francisco: To Voicer Frank Giffone: Trump may have “the heart of a lion,” as you say, but he’s got the brains of a jackass. Jimmy Layton

Perfect color

Massapequa Park, L.I.: To Voicer Jay Williams, re your letter on skin tone and politics: You could not have said it any better. Raymond P. Moran

de Flector

South Hempstead, L.I.: Mayor de Blasio, I have been sheltering in place at home for months due to the coronavirus. It is very frustrating and emotionally disturbing. However, I don’t have any desire to shoot someone once I go outside, and I’m sure most New Yorkers share that restraint. Finding another reason for the violence should be easy: the cause points back to you. Michael Quane

Blue silence

Brooklyn: I agree with Voicer Dennis Pascale about the police being their own worst enemy. The blue wall of silence must end. People keep saying that the police deserve our gratitude, but they get our gratitude via a robust paycheck. You want our respect, then turn in your fellow bad cops. If you don’t like the job, then quit. There is a long line of unemployed New Yorkers waiting to take your job.

Splendid isolation

Middletown, N.Y.: Hong Kong is now part of China. We should not be involved, especially now with our own exponentially growing problems. Consider the outcomes of our intrusions into Yugoslavia, Libya, Afghanistan to name a few.

Soft landing

Garden City, L.I.: I was sad to see United Airlines is laying off nearly 36,000 employees. I am curious how many were minimum and low-wage jobs, and how many were upper management officers, who will land with multimilliondollar golden parachutes.

Paul M. Falabella

Standard issue

Don Adler

Damien Burke

Sarasota, Fla.: Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s war injuries are

/GREGORY BULL/AP tragic. But is she above criticism? Of course not. She should have the common sense not to judge people and events in our history by today’s standards. We can’t know where we are if we don’t know where we’ve been.

Thomas M. Lightcap III

Jigsaw

Central Valley, N.Y.: The founders of our democracy left us just a piece of the puzzle: the fundamental principle that all men are created equal. Our job will be to continue to build on that cornerstone, and turn the flaws to account. That is the holy grail of the human spirit. “Even a fool knows we cannot reach out and touch the stars, but that does not keep the wise man from trying.”

What I miss

Bob McCue

Manhattan: In this time of pandemic, I miss the kiss. I miss strolling through a museum awed by the work of the masters. I miss live concerts ambushing my senses. I miss paging through books in the library or book shops, searching for the book with no name. I miss going to the movies, and shouting out to the character on screen, “There you go!” I miss laughing.

Susan A. Stark