COLUMBUS, Ohio (WOWO) — An Ohio State University freshman says extreme heat inside her dorm room drove her and dozens of other students to sleep on the floor, tables and couches in a basement.

Kathy Pham, a freshman biology student, was among roughly 1,700 Ohio State students living in campus housing without air conditioning when a heat wave hit in late August and early September.

Pham said her fourth-floor dorm room in Mack Hall became so hot that sleeping in the basement became the better option.

“I got over it because I was like, ‘Would I rather sleep here? Would I rather sleep on the floor, or would I rather sleep at 100 degrees?’” Pham said.

Pham posted a TikTok showing freshmen sleeping throughout the Mack Hall basement. The video was viewed by more than 250,000 people and prompted widespread concern from viewers who questioned the conditions students were facing.

Pham said the basement was crowded and not particularly clean, but the students made the most of the situation.

“People were so mad. I just want people to remember we’re still like college kids, and as much as it sucks, we’re still having fun,” Pham said. “Because of that situation, I met a lot of people I otherwise wouldn’t.”

Ohio State has more than 14,000 students living on campus, and Mack Hall is one of the university’s older residence buildings without air conditioning.

Dave Isaacs, a spokesperson for Ohio State’s Office of Student Life, said the university provided students in Mack Hall and other non-air-conditioned buildings with lists of air-conditioned rooms and other campus spaces where they could cool down.

Students also can request a free box fan through university services.

Isaacs said the university’s older residence halls were designed with airflow in mind, but acknowledged the need for broader improvements across campus.

Ohio State President Ravi Bellamkonda said the university is developing a long-term plan to renovate its more than 40 residence buildings.

“I would like our dorms to be a competitive advantage for Ohio State,” Bellamkonda said. “And we have some distance to go.”

Pham said she spent three nights sleeping in the Mack Hall basement before a residence hall employee told her she could no longer sleep there because of safety concerns.

She then stayed at a friend’s apartment. Pham said other students continued using the basement as a place to escape the heat for roughly another week.

Mack Hall, located along Neil Avenue on Ohio State’s South Campus, was built in the 1920s. The university lists the four-story building as having the potential for renovation, but there is no specific renovation plan in place for Mack Hall.

Pham said she understands why installing central air conditioning in an older building could be difficult.

“As much as it sucks, the infrastructure is not built for it. I think if they tried to install AC, we would literally blow up,” Pham joked. “So I understand.”

The cost of housing has also become part of the discussion. Ohio State students pay one of four on-campus housing rates, ranging from $4,175 to $5,362 per semester.

Pham said students paying the same rate can receive significantly different accommodations depending on their residence hall.

She pointed to a friend living in Park-Stradley Hall, where air conditioning keeps the rooms considerably cooler according to WCMH.

“She says her dorm is freezing all the time, like they lucked out. It kind of sucks that we’re paying the same tuition or the same rate,” Pham said. “I’m paying Rate 2, she’s also paying Rate 2 somewhere else. So she has that accommodation, but I don’t. I just think it’s kind of sucky.”

Isaacs said students living in non-air-conditioned buildings can sleep elsewhere on campus as long as they do not move too many belongings with them.

The university is also moving ahead with specific air-conditioning and renovation projects.

Ohio State’s Board of Trustees recently allocated $4.7 million for air-conditioning work at Baker Hall, Baker East and Baker West, along with other residence-hall improvements. That work is scheduled for the summer of 2027.

The university has also tested individual room air-conditioning units through a pilot program that allows students to control the temperature in their own rooms.

Isaacs said there is no timetable yet for expanding that program, but the university is moving forward with it as quickly as possible.

For Pham, the experience produced an unexpected result: what began as an uncomfortable way to escape the heat became a way to meet other students.

The viral video brought national attention to the conditions inside Mack Hall, but Pham said the students themselves were also determined to make the best of an uncomfortable situation.