A TikTok video showing several Ohio State University students sprawled across couches, chairs and tables in the basement of Mack Hall has gone viral, pulling back the curtain on a problem students living in six South Campus residence halls have been facing: no air conditioning. The video, posted by user @kalamitykaths on Sept. 2, captured students seeking refuge from stifling dorm rooms during a hot early-September stretch in Columbus.
The clip prompted a response from university officials, as reported by The Columbus Dispatch, which detailed how the footage renewed attention on the lack of cooling in some campus housing. Mack Hall is one of six residence halls at Ohio State without air conditioning, alongside Baker Hall East, Baker Hall West, Bradley Hall, Canfield Hall and Paterson Hall, according to The Lantern.
Student reporting by the campus newspaper found indoor temperatures inside un-air-conditioned Mack Hall rooms climbing as high as 95 degrees in early September, forcing first-year residents to abandon their beds for basement couches, tables and floors overnight. The heat wave behind those conditions coincided with September records reported in Cleveland, Akron-Canton, Toledo and Mansfield.
University Points to Fans, Ice Pops and a 2027 Fix
As a short-term response, OSU Student Life placed large fans in halls, offered a free box fan per room upon request, and distributed ice treats and bottled water, along with lists of air-conditioned study spaces students could use to cool off, the same account notes, citing statements from university spokesperson Dave Isaacs.
A longer-term fix is planned, but it won't arrive before another summer passes. A $4.7 million project for electrical infrastructure upgrades and portable air conditioning installation at Baker Hall East and West is planned for summer 2027, according to statements from university spokesperson Dave Isaacs. That leaves Mack, Bradley, Canfield and Paterson halls without a stated timeline for permanent cooling.
Why Students Can't Just Move Out
Part of what makes the situation sting is that many of the students affected live in residence halls without air conditioning.
The university's own fee structure adds another layer to the story. OSU charges different rates for its residence halls, and air-conditioned facilities are pricier, according to OSU's standard housing rates.
A Summer of Extremes Across the Region
The Mack Hall basement scene didn't happen in isolation. State Climatologist Aaron Wilson told The Lantern that central Ohio had already weathered a volatile stretch of severe weather before the heat wave hit.
The heat itself extended well beyond Columbus. Multi-state heat advisories issued by the National Weather Service on Sept. 1 stretched across 17 states in the Midwest and South. The regional intensity underscored the breadth of the heat wave.
For now, students in Mack, Bradley, Canfield and Paterson halls are left leaning on box fans and basement floors while the university's planned fix remains reserved for just two of the six affected buildings.
