College sorority ‘cold rooms’ get the hot spotlight in viral social media trend

As campuses across the country welcome back students for the fall semester, a new viral trend is sweeping social media, especially among prospective Greek-life recruits.

Sororities are getting the spotlight with users actively discussing “sorority cold rooms.”

The rooms are commonly communal sleeping areas with rows of bunk beds found in attics or basements at large universities that are kept cold.

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Many chapter houses have cold dorm sleeping spaces, said one current leader and member of a sorority at a large university. 

“Picture a large living room with nothing but beds in it,” the student told Fox News Digital. “This set-up typically has sets of bunk beds lining the perimeter of the room or bunk beds are set up in lines, almost like a kids’ sleepaway camp.”

She added, “The term ‘cold dorm’ is used to describe the sleeping dormitory that stays at a strict temperature of around 68 degrees.”

The woman indicated that many chapters have rules in place, such as devices silenced, no lights and no alarms — with most women using a silent vibrating alarm on their phones or shock bracelet alarms. 

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“The concept of a cold dorm is nothing new,” she added. “Many of the chapter facilities were built decades ago, designed to have a cold dorm.” She said that as houses are renovated, many of them often switch to “typical dorm” arrangements. 

Schools such as Florida State University, Perdue University, Indiana University and the University of Washington have received attention on TikTok and Instagram regarding their cold rooms.

One TikToker drew attention to Florida State’s “sorority sleeping porch” as she shared her experience at her alma mater.

She said girls in her sorority did have their own rooms but were also encouraged to sleep on the sleeping porch.

“We were told that it was safer to sleep on the sleeping porch because of Ted Bundy,” said the user, referencing the infamous serial killer who targeted young women. 

She added, “I’m not really sure what Ted Bundy has to do with the sleeping porch because he could have gotten all of us in that instance. Ted Bundy was worked into the story, though.”

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The FSU Gator said the majority of the girls chose the porch since it was quieter, and they all understood it was strictly for sleeping.

TikTok users took to the comments section to discuss their own experiences and thoughts. 

“Almost ALL the houses at UWashington have sleeping porches with one or two exceptions. They kept it really cold and people’s alarms would go off all morning,” commented one woman.

She added, “When one person got sick, everyone got sick. My friends that slept in them HATED them, and it was often cited as a reason girls would drop.”

Said another person, “Yep, we had one at Idaho, too.”

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Another TikToker posted a video garnering nearly 50,000 likes with the title, “Cold Air Dorms.”

She shared her experience at Perdue University in Indiana, noting her sorority house from the outside is beautiful, but due to the number of sisters living in the house, they were short on space.

“If you did not go to college in the Midwest, this may come as a shock to you,” the user warned. 

She explained they are “basically one big room, really cold, really dark, and filled with multiple bunk beds.”

The user said it was so cozy to be there and joked she missed a lot of her 7:30 a.m. classes. 

“Honestly, a cold-air dorm sounds like my dream sleeping situation,” wrote one user.

“Loved them! So dark, so quiet.”

Another person wrote, “We called them open-air dorms at Illinois – loved them! So dark, so quiet.”

Said another person on social media, “My daughter is a Gamma Phi Beta at the University of Arizona. They have a sleeping ‘porch.’ She doesn’t have any complaints.”

Commented yet another person, “Where do I sign up? This sounds heavenly.”

“I don’t understand how sleeping porches pass fire marshall rules,” a different user pointed out. “If there was a fire, it’d be chaos.”

Another woman commented, “I miss the sleeping porch every single day.”