Creating visibility for a community is sometimes not easy, but thanks to the student organization system one community has found its visibility.

The furry community at Iowa State and in Ames decided over the summer that it was time to create a student organization on campus, so as of this semester the community now has one called Ames Furry Club.

“[When deciding to create the club] we wanted something associated with the university more directly so that new students coming to Iowa State could easily find the community here,” said Odin Taylor, junior in materials engineering and president of Ames Furry Club. “Personally, I had to find the community through the gaming club on campus when someone in there was a furry and referred me to the rest of the community, so I just wanted to create something that was easily found by interested students.”

According to their student organization page, the Ames Furry Club is a group of members of the furry community or persons interested in the furry community. The club is a welcoming environment for individuals in the community to discuss, share and participate in various aspects of furry media.

“The community is not big here and I don’t expect it to grow very big, but I want to include as many community members here as possible,” Taylor said. “Not everyone in the community is in the club but I am hoping it is a way to create visibility.”

Any current Iowa State Student or anyone 18 years or older in the Ames area can join the club and be a member and all members are encouraged to attend meetings. The club has meetings on the third Thursday of every month at 5:30 p.m. in Carver 0232. The club also meets up off-campus for various other activities.

“Another reason we wanted an official club was so that we could have more regular meeting times and would be able to have meetings on campus,” Taylor said. “It allows us to do more things like fundraising events for ourselves or other charities and organizations.”

Taylor said meetings will always include some sort of activity such as playing games, making art or watching a movie. Snacks are provided at the meetings. The club may also meet off-campus occasionally for various other fun activities, such as bowling or mini-golf.

Taylor said the club has not experienced much backlash or pushback after its creation. He said they received some some weird glances at ClubFest but he also said they made many people smile and that is more than enough for him.

“We want to make the community more visible at Iowa State,” Taylor said. “I want it to be a way to educate Iowa State and show them that first of all your fellow students can be furries, and that we can be perfectly fine and interesting people.”