The Hipster, a subculture of people that brandish new ways of life, styles, and free thinking. In so doing, their original idealism sets off a chain reaction of conformism in a wake of their non-conformity. As master hipster Abby Chapman puts it, “…their breaking away from society doesn’t fit because they’ve created their own society…they conform in their nonconformity”.

Like any other cultural branch of society–as with the ninja–the hipster has deep seated roots in the past. The word ‘hip’ itself means that one is in the know, or is current on new ideas and trends. The way of the hip have their origins back in the jazz age, but more recently the suffix -ster was added, yielding the class of idealists we know now and see around today.

A large part of mastering the ways of the hipster lies in their unique garb, most often selected with akin taste to their music: small and underground. When asked about their style, some hipsters, like Abby Chapman, prefer nerdy paraphernalia like a hand knit Möbius Strip scarf, others like Phoenix Davis simply say “I … love H&M”.

You see them everywhere, walking the halls, reading poetry in the media center, and even teaching classes over in room 12, but we all know the latter is just a cover for the commander hipster himself to teach us all the way of the hipster.

By Jon Harmor