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New York college approves ‘furry’ student club as trend spreads across US campuses
By Kristine Parks
Published December 17, 2025
A student government at a New York college has approved a new "furry" club on campus, joining a growing number of such student groups at colleges and universities across the country, according to a recent report.
Furry fandom is a subculture made up of people who enjoy expressing themselves through animal characters.
According to the International Anthropomorphic Research Project, the furry community includes "fans, artists, writers, gamers and role-players" who often create an anthropomorphized animal character, or "fursona," with whom they identify. The group says more than 75% of furries are under the age of 25 and nearly 60% of the fandom say they are enrolled in college.
The College Fix reported Tuesday that the State University of New York (SUNY) at Plattsburgh’s Student Association approved "Plattsfur" as a provisional student club in an 11-1 vote on Nov. 16.
Furries pose at Anthrocon, one of the world's largest anthropomorphic conventions celebrating the furry subculture, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on July 1, 2023. (Agnes Bun/AFP via Getty Images)
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The report stated furry student groups have become more common over the past few years, with new clubs appearing at universities nationwide, reflecting the subculture's growing popularity with college students.
Plattsfur "was pitched as a safe space for furries to socialize and create content around a joint interest" and currently has 17 members, according to campus newspaper Cardinal Points.
"We aim to not only have social dialogues, but also incorporate certain elements of crafts as well as arts, and not only teach methods, but also invite people to explore stuff that they may not have before," junior anthropology major Styx Williams said, according to Cardinal Points.
"Originally, this started with a handful of us that were friends that kind of just found out that we’re all furries," Williams added. "We realized that there’s not really a club geared toward that on campus, and through reaching out to other people in different areas of campus we found out that there are quite a few furries on campus."
A New York state university student government approved a campus club for Furries, in a growing trend at college campuses across the nation, according to a new report. (Agnes Bun/AFP via Getty Images)
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According to its Instagram page, Plattsfur has since hosted a coloring-page meet-and-greet and a campfire meetup for students.
In the past two academic years, several U.S. colleges have approved or launched furry clubs, including Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Maverick Furry Club; California Polytechnic State University’s Furry Club; MataFurs at California State University, Northridge; Plattsfur at SUNY Plattsburgh; and UTK Furries at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Furry groups are growing at college campuses nationwide, a new report says. (Getty Images)
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Triton Tails, the UC San Diego chapter of the global furry network for universities, the Anthromorphic Animal Appreciation Association, reports there are over 100 university chapters of furry clubs across the globe.
SUNY Plattsburgh did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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