What is the function of a Paddle?

[FΔithHΩpeLoΛe]

I don't know if any of you watch the show Pretty Little Liars, but 3 characters attended a Sorority party last week, and one of them looked at a paddle on the wall - what I want to know is, why would one engrave all your names on the paddle, and why names with different years next to them?

Is that a tradition? Is it the year they graduated, and why not have separate paddles for each year..?

Thank you!

[angels&angles]

Well, obviously this is a TV show and TV writers don't have a great track record at getting Greek stuff right. But, taking this at absolute face value, I'll take a bite.

The names listed here all seem to be from the late '50s and early '60s. I would say that this might be a paddle from the founding sisters of that chapter and/or sorority (if it's a local), made and signed at their first initiation. The dates might would be the graduation years. The '00 is probably a misreading of '60.

ETA: The dates span 5 years, but the '61 could be a super-senior

[lilabelle]

Every organization (and even chapters within that organization) have different meaning behind paddles. Not every organization uses paddles, either. My chapter specifically sees paddles as nothing more than a gift from your big sister than you receive after you are initiated: it's just a tradition.
Seeing as your question involves a fictional sorority on a fictional televison show, nobody can tell you what the names mean (unless it was discussed in the books). It could be everything from the Pledge Trainer's name of that year (or Member educator, whatever you call it), the presidents names, or something completely different. I suspect the latter, and the reasons may be revealed later in another episode, but that's just my suspicion.