Emma Rodriguez

A second rent-free house, the Malthouse-Pilot Scholarship House, has been formally dedicated in FGCU’s North Lake Village.The house stands alongside the Gresham-Kite Pilot Scholarship House, which opened in 2003. Both have the capacity to house 17 students each, and were built by the Southern Scholarship Foundation, an organization devoted to providing rent-free housing for Florida students.

It’s been a rough few years for the children of southwest Florida. Between the COVID-19 pandemic and a community-shattering hurricane in Ian, it’s difficult for anyone of any age to not feel the doom and gloom.These challenges paired with academic stress, pressure from social media and the looming risk of school shootings are hitting the region’s youth the hardest.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office removed the ability to comment on some social media posts last year, something that's well within their right to do, but prompting some to wonder why.Instagram comments ceased on July 28 of last year, but it’s unknown when the same occurred on Facebook. Law enforcement and citizen perspectives varied on the lack of comment availability on the Sheriff's Office's social media sites.