The Anthro Club, the furry club at the University of Minnesota, was created to provide a safe place for students who identify as furries.

Founded in fall 2023, the club currently has 30 members and holds biweekly meetings at Coffman Union. The club was created to make a space for students interested in anthropomorphism, and has a variety of different events, including a fursuit walkout.

Zachery Wesley, a second-year student and the club’s event coordinator and future club president, said it is open for any students to come to any meetings and events, regardless of whether they identify as a furry or not.

The club gets its name from “anthropomorphism,” the attribution of human characteristics or behaviors to non-human entities — a core concept at the heart of the furry fandom. Furries are people interested in anthropomorphism, often curating their own anthropomorphic identities called “fursonas.”

Club meetings are a way for members to socialize with one another. Members often bring board games to play together or just come to hang out.

Wesley said the club was created for anyone interested in anthropomorphism at the University.

“We started the group in order to provide a space to gather for people who enjoy anthropomorphic works and art,” Wesley said. 

Wesley said the group has not faced many significant challenges thus far, but it has had difficulty finding resources as a new club starting out. 

Some people in the anthropomorphic community interested in the mediums do not consider themselves furries, and it comes down to their personal choice. 

Brady Collins, a first-year student and a member of the club, said the anthropomorphic community has been interpreted badly in the past, but is being seen in a more positive light recently. He added he has been interested in anthro since he was in high school and identifies as a furry, and said there is a possibility that the university has a lot of students who identify as a furry. 

“It’s a pretty small community that is becoming more known throughout the world,” Collins said. “It used to be kind of frowned upon, but that’s not the case anymore.” 

Collins said his favorite part of the club is being in a space with other students in the anthropomorphic community. 

“Just getting to have the same interest and getting to know that there’s more people like me and people who have their own characters and people who have an interest in the fandom itself,” Collins said. 

Wesley said they have a fursuit walkout where they dress up in their fursuits and walk around campus. People tend to give them dirty looks during their first walk.

Vincent Norton, a second-year student and current club member, said he appreciates the group for how it allows him to pursue interests in anthropomorphism and feels a vital sense of belonging in the group as a queer person.  

“The fact that I was able to find a community where the queer culture just felt something that I had known that I had these feelings and I had known that I liked these things,” Norton said. 

Norton said non-furries do not understand what it means to be a furry. 

“I feel like most people know what a furry is, but they don’t really know anything past that,” Norton said. 

Collins said people outside of the furry community have a negative view of furries due to memes and internet controversies, especially on social media. He added that the club wants to change the negative perception of its community. 

The club recently started putting up posters on campus, and Collins said he is happy that the club is getting more attention. 

“I just hope it keeps growing, to be honest,” Collins said. “I love the fact that there’s the posters up because I’ve seen people talk about it.”