Imagine meeting a group of strangers and calling them your sisters. For two Penn State sororities, this was just the case.

Theta Pi Alpha sorority decided to join Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority after the university informed them that they were in danger of being disbanded because of Title IX violations.

Because Theta Pi Alpha sorority was not recognized by Panhellenic Council, Interfraternity Council or a part of a national chapter, and it did not specify in its constitution that male members were welcome to join, it was in violation of gender discrimination codes.

Director of Union and Student Activities Stan Latta said that Title IX protects against gender discrimination in organizations.

After identifying about six organizations that did not meet Title IX's requirements, Latta said, the option was given for these groups to become co-ed or merge with a group that had Title IX exemption and maintained single-sex status.

Sigma Sigma Sigma President Maggie Fesenmaier (sophomore-communications and political science) said that because her sorority is governed under the Panhellenic Council and has the necessary exemption, their sorority was a good candidate to accept Theta Pi Alpha. In addition, she said, the sorority's quota number of members had not been filled, leaving room for the influx of new members.

"[Theta Pi Alpha] never had a national status, so they never had to respond to anyone," Fesenmaier said.

"I think the biggest challenge will be getting them used to Panhellenic, but everything's going pretty well," she added.

For Meredith Collins (junior-nutrition), who is currently transitioning from a Theta Pi Alpha sister to a Sigma Sigma Sigma sister, this has been a bittersweet time.

Collins said many members of Theta Pi Alpha chose not to merge with her because of financial or personal reasons. The 31 women who did transfer, though, helped make Sigma Sigma Sigma the largest sorority at Penn State with over 90 members.

"I wasn't opposed to the merge," Collins said. "We've only been officially together this past weekend, but they've been incorporating some of our traditions."

Theta Kappa Pi, operating as a service sorority without national affiliation, had a similar experience last semester.

After university officials notified Theta Kappa Pi of their violation, the sorority chose to merge with Phi Mu sorority.

Former Theta Kappa Pi member Kaitlin Griffin (sophomore-sociology), who joined Phi Mu, said although both groups were a little wary at first, the transition has gone well.

"We didn't know what to expect, and we were worried that our values would be compromised," she said. "But it's not about the name of the sorority, it's about the actual girls in the sorority."

Jane Neitz, assistant director of fraternity and sorority life, said each organization handled things as a collective group when it came to delegating leadership roles.

She also said housing would depend on the preferences of each chapter as they merge into one organization.

Although the transition to become part of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority may be overwhelming for former members of Theta Pi Alpha, Panhellenic Council President Annie Larimer said support will be provided to help make it easier.

"They will go through the process of learning ritual and history, and we'll try to familiarize them with how Panhellenic operates," Larimer said.

"They will be just as invited to join anything as anybody else has been," she said.