Book recaps frat life

Red plastic cups scatter the ground while students go into individual rooms looking for a different type of alcohol to chug down. By the time they reach their 18th room of the white mansion, it is pretty safe to say that the last shot of Crown is taking its toll. Various students sit across the front porch sipping Coronas, remembering the chemistry test they took at 8 a.m. As all students do, they predict they failed. All the while, music is pumped through the entire house, forcing most people to yell to even be heard. Others let their hips do the talking. This typical scene of a Thursday night Fraternity on Georgia Tech campus captures the essence of Jock Young's novel Epsilon Zeta.

The author was actually in the fraternity Sigma Chi in Florida State University. He states that the book is fictional in characters but is based on truth; Young said, "The events that take place in the book are things I witnessed or knew about. A lot of the dialogue is from that time. The main ensemble characters are fictionalized. They are composites rather than strictly based on a particular person."

The intriguing book narrates the story of a fraternity at Northwest Florida University, which goes through its share of hardship. The fraternity has been taken to court on various issues such as date rape and marijuana, but the wrongdoings do not seem to stop, causing the president to deactivate any brother partaking in behavior considered illegal.

This includes one brother, who stadium dives during a football game causing a sister to dislocate her knee, and a lawsuit to follow. Other lawsuits seem to keep coming up as well, questioning whether the fraternity will be able to survive for much longer.

The story revolves around a pledge class of 16 and the different activities they must complete to be considered part of the revered brotherhood. This includes the emotional hazing, binge drinking, and admonishment endured by the prospective brothers. "Epsilon Zeta" also focuses on the brothers already in the fraternity and what they have to deal with from girlfriends, brothers, and families on a daily basis.

The book is filled with interesting characters such as Martin Pierce, whose father is in jail and whose mother is an alcoholic. He joins the fraternity because it is the only sense of family he feels he has ever had. Mike Geiger also tributes the fraternity to being his family since his dad, a former Epsilon Zeta, was killed in an accident ten years prior. The book clarifies why fraternities seem to be so important to many individuals across the country, and how a group of men from all different social statuses, from all different backgrounds, can truly call themselves brothers.

Jock Young notes how various personalities clash throughout the house but at the end of the day, the phrase "fraternity brother" seems like an understatement. These men are actual family. He speaks of bonding in the fraternity and the overall sense of comfort, unity and passion that is seen regularly.

He also looks at the arguing, backstabbing and jealousy that occurs, including the demeaning way the brothers treat females. There are many graphic scenes showcasing this lack of respect towards "little sisters."

As one brother bluntly put it, "There are some universal truths you need to learn about women before you can progress in this life. The first one is that every woman is a whore and your mother is questionable."

Each chapter is bombarded with images of women being used as nothing more than sexual objects. In addition to sexism, racism and homophobia are also present throughout the novel-the pledge class consists entirely of heterosexual Caucasians. One pledge eventually quits after being taunted for questioning his sexuality. And the constant drinking, seeping through every other page, along with some illegal drug use.

Unlike much of the literature about the Greek life, Epsilon Zeta does not focus on particular occurrences of physical hazing. Instead, Jock Young turns his attention to the events that happen within a brotherhood, as seen from the brothers' perspectives. He does not put down Greek societies, but rather shines a true lighting on fraternities across college campuses of America.

On the whole the book does a good job of portraying fraternities. The many pros to being a brother are shown, along with some of the cons. Humorous moments are scattered around, along with life lessons each brother comes to learn.

Some of the chapters can be hard to follow , but overall the reader acts as a fly on the wall, silently watching over the prestigious Epsilon Zeta Fraternity of Northwestern Florida University.