A Furry Gathering: Fur Ball

The news of Fur Ball made quite a stir on campus, with many students wondering who would be there and what we could expect the event to be like. I asked myself these same questions, and though I am not a furry myself, my curiosity got the best of me. I stayed for a short period of time, but the ball certainly made an impression. 

As I began my walk over to the Student Union, something stood out to me immediately before I could even see the building. The music’s volume was significantly lowered to the point where I only began to hear it when I was passing by the white tent outside Gray Campus Center. At other balls, I’ve generally been able to hear it even before rounding the corner of Commons. 

I met a group of friends outside the Student Union, hoping that going with a group would strengthen my courage and provide more people for anonymity's sake. As we approached, we noticed the doors were closed. 

I did not make much of this until as we entered we realized the lights were on. The overhead ones, not the green and blue ones that are familiar at balls. There was nowhere to hide. In this harsh light, we could see about seven people dancing. Most had ears with accompanying tails, though I did not see any complete fursuits. 

The music made an environment easy to dance to, particularly if you consumed any substances before arriving, with a mix of pop songs and EDM tunes without lyrics. Songs played included “Clarity (Tiesto Remix)” by Zedd Feat. Foxes and, my personal favorite of the night, “Animal” by Neon Trees. 

As I spoke to two sophomore attendees on the dance floor, I realized that I was not the only one there who had come out of curiosity. 

One shared, “I kind of knew it was going to be like this, but I was also curious to see if anyone would come in a full fursuit that I felt I had to come.” 

Another explained their presence and stated, “I was hoping that it would be one of the coolest events of the semester like some of the other balls have been, but it's not.” 

To us outsiders not involved in the furry community, perhaps we wish we could have had a night of world peace, where the fuzzy and the fur-less come together in a bid for lawlessness and freedom. Though my friends and I were a bit scared off by the bright lights, it looked like the main group dancing with their colorful ear and tail combos were enjoying themselves in their own furry world.