What do emos, scene people, goths, metalheads, alternatives, queer people, trans people, Mexican Spiderman, furries, esoteric furries reading tarot cards, therians, astronomers, cosplayers and other people rejecting the status quo have in common? Hating the sun and loving the moon’s glow enveloped in darkness, of course.
The University of Connecticut’s mysterious and infamous Moon Club, a club celebrating the beauty of the full moon outdoors while congregating with others — especially the weird and interesting characters of UConn who consider it beloved — returned from a yearlong hiatus under her loving gaze on Monday, Oct. 6.
The club was previously shut down due to administrative pressure over alleged rowdiness, litter and drug usage on university property at their meetings. To circumvent this, Moon Club decided to only host sober gatherings without live music. The previous Moon Club meeting was at the Great Lawn, but this meeting took place on the Student Union lawn.
Entering the lawn, you could see clusters of people gathered around talking to each other with alternative music playing on a speaker. There was a couple in goat and dragon-like furry headpieces with lanterns reading tarot cards. There was also a telescope free for anyone to use to admire the eternal beauty of the moon. Incredibly noticeable are the visually distinct variety of people, such as the wide array of furries, generally alternatively-dressed people and even a few cosplayers.
Though this idea of gathering under the full moon just to talk and party as well as the type of people it attracts may seem odd to some, attendees spoke to the welcoming and comforting power this club has for others. Talking to the attendees of Moon Club highlights this universal fact.
You might have seen a Spiderman in a sombrero walking around campus before — his name is Mexican Spiderman. The anonymous hero inside of the costume said in an interview about his double life, “It’s definitely weird but sometimes a blessing because I have to keep my identities separate. I want to make sure everyone feels happy and welcome.”
He also said that when someone tells him how happy he makes them feel, it makes his whole week better. Mexican Spiderman loves to meet new people and get to know them. “Every day I meet someone new.”
“I was always a big fan of Spiderman; one Halloween I was Spiderman and my dad said, ‘Why don’t you become Mexican Spiderman?” he said. Thus a local hero was born.
The furry subculture dressed in costumes that make them look like anthropomorphic animals called “fursuits” at Moon Club stick out like a sore paw. You could see them eager to socialize with other attendees and dancing just like everybody else.
One of these Moon Club furries, Ash, said, “I came because my friends came.” He said that it was “pretty fun. Socializing, having a blast.” Another Moon Club furry, Bow, said, “I was here my freshman year. I missed this club. I get to howl at the Moon.” Kodi, another furry, said Moon Club near the beginning of the meeting was “a chill gathering.”
Beep, a seventh semester puppetry arts major and werewolf, said, “I’m glad that Moon Club is back. In puppet arts classes you’re with the same people so it’s nice to meet people outside your major.”
There was a cosplayer of the visual novel character Nagito Komaeda from the “Danganronpa” murder game series with company, including someone dressed up as a deer. This crowd didn’t even go to UConn but rather other colleges around eastern Connecticut. This cosplayer said about Moon Club, “It’s kind of just a tradition. Even if we can’t make it [we] celebrate the moon [as] an excuse to hang out at night together.”
There are also a ton of people at least sympathetic to alternative culture. Mal, a third semester psychological sciences student, called Moon Club “strange but cool.” She said that the purpose of Moon Club was that you could find “likeminded people.”
Louisa, a seventh semester molecular and cell biology major, said, “It’s a nice community. Everyone brings their own thing.” They then cited a bagpipe player at a previous Moon Club meeting as an example. They continued, “There’s a lot of queer people too. It kind of died out my freshman year so I’m glad it’s back.” Bridget, a seventh-semester sociology major, said, “It[’s] so inclusive here. It’s where the alt heads can come together. It feels like such a safe space.”
Moon Club president Angelina Lyras, also referred to as “Moon Mommy,” gave a speech starting with praising not the moon but rather the community of Moon Club and their patience with getting the club up and running again.
“The moon told me she’s happy to see us,” Lyras said.
She then introduced the other e-board members, the tarot card readers and the person who brought the telescope. Lyras also established that the event is sober and that only smoking and vaping are tolerated only in designated areas.
Over the hiatus, the Moon Club e-board made a logo sample and got a free tote bag for a raffle.
“I love the moon because I believe she serves as one of our biggest symbols of unity as a society,” said Lyras. “Despite all of our differences as people, at the end of the day, no matter where you are in the world, we all look up at the same moon.”