Here is an article in the online edition of the Coast Report (the campus newspaper of Orange Coast College in California, USA):
http://www.coastreportonline.com/features/article_d7d875f8-a3fd-11e3-bf62-001a4bcf887a.html
It describes the campus Furry Club, with comments by club members Matthew "Hems" Geddes, Alex "Ace" Nobles, Justin Cha, and Marcella Norling.
Posted: Tuesday, March 4, 2014 5:00 pm
Gino Riccardi, Staff Writer
With a flip of his tail and a wave of his gloved paw, Furry Club President Matthew Geddes called the first meeting of his anthropomorphic friends to order on Feb. 27.
Geddes, who goes by his Furry alias Hems during the meetings, presided over the meeting of artists, musicians and self-described nerds. The band of members, known as Furries, gather weekly to discuss their passion — a love of all things, well, furry.
Club members said each Furry has an original character persona — an anthropomorphic alter ego that is personally designed and interpreted through elaborate and expensive Furry suits.
Not every Furry has a suit however. The cost for a full body costume can come in at a staggering $1,000 to $3,000, so during the recent meeting club officers wore only fluffy tails, and in some cases, collars.
“Nobody is going to ruin their fur suit,” music major Alex Nobles, 20, known by his furry name Ace said.
More than anything, the group indulges in creating and displaying their own art and ideas. Rather than focus on comic book or video game art, Furries like to create new identities through costumes.
Along with being imaginative, group members are also adept designers, administrators and organizers.
“With Furries, we’re all fans of ourselves,” Geddes said. “And fans of anthropomorphic art.”
In addition to weekly meetings on campus, members attend an array of Furry events and conventions every year, Furry Club officer Justin Cha said. Furries also host fundraisers to assist animal shelters, museums and children’s hospitals, members said.
Furry Club adviser Marcella Norling, a religious studies professor, said she didn’t know much about Furries when she agreed to assist the group, but has already learned a great deal about the pastime.
“I have nerd in my DNA,” Norling said.
As a veteran of Renaissance fairs, she said she understands what it is to break off the shackles of the ordinary by participating in what some may consider an alternate reality.
When asked how she came to be the club’s adviser, Norling said she found Geddes at a booth during Club Rush and asked his name, what his club was about and who its adviser was.
They didn’t have one. So she took on the position and she said they are a fun and lively bunch.
“Just wait until the third and fourth meeting,” she said. “It’ll really be something.”
Club members hope to raise awareness of ongoing meetings throughout Southern California and expect to have their own events on campus.
The club meets on Tuesdays from 3:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. in the Social Science building.