Ryan ChartrandChild actress Jodie Sweetin, best known as Stephanie Tanner from the 1990s hit series “Full House,” is coming to the Chumash Auditorium today at 8 p.m. as part of Associated Students Inc.’s True Life Series.
Sweetin will discuss her post-Stephanie Tanner life and the challenges she faced, including battles with alcohol and drug addictions.
ASI programs coordinator Michelle Broom said Sweetin was a perfect candidate for the True Life Series given that she has “a great story to tell” and a name students will recognize.
“It’s the perfect tie-in to the theme and it’s great to get people to think about it for themselves,” Broom said.
ASI receives catalogs of potential guest speakers and student government members were immediately intrigued by Sweetin’s story. Broom said Sweetin has spoken at Chapman University – where she actually attended college – and Central Michigan University, and her average audience size has been roughly 1,500, but she has spoken to as many as 9,000 students.
ASI’s first and most recent True Life event featured a debate on pornography, which approximately 3,200 Cal Poly students attended. When Chumash Auditorium was completely full, screens were set up in the University Union Plaza to accommodate more students.
“We’re not expecting those numbers (for tonight’s speaker), but we’re expecting a large turnout from the dorms,” Broom said, noting that residence hall representatives took it upon themselves to market the event while marketing around campus came much later.
“I’ve really liked her ever since I watched ‘Full House’ growing up,” said architectural engineering senior Lindsay Patch. “I actually still watch the reruns on ABC Family daily, sometimes even twice a day.”
After secretly using crystal methamphetamine for nearly two years, Sweetin voluntarily checked herself into rehab in March 2005. She has been sober since her six-week stint in rehab, and will talk about how rehabilitative therapy changed her life.
When “Full House” ended in 1995 after eight seasons, 13-year-old Sweetin began using alcohol. Her habit was worse by her freshman year in high school and by college, she had a full-blown habit by college.
Shortly after her marriage to police officer Shaun Holguin in July 2002, 20-year-old Sweetin began experimenting with methamphetamines and was soon dangerously addicted. She essentially lived a double life for two years in order to keep her drug addiction a secret from the people she was closest to.
Even Sweetin’s own husband was in the dark about her drug addiction. He filed for divorce after learning of her addiction, as her drug use was both a lie and a threat to his job. The divorce was finalized at the end of 2005.
In February 2006, Sweetin appeared on “Good Morning America” and in People magazine to publicly talk about her addiction and recovery from methamphetamines, and said she hopes that this is only a footnote in her career, and that this isn’t the last people hear of her.
Prior to her public appearances, there were tabloid reports of a “three-day bender” and a “Full House” intervention that included the Olsen twins and Bob Saget, both of which she denied.
Sweetin recently returned to TV when she became the host of a PG-rated television series on Fuse TV called “Pants-Off Dance-Off” in July 2006. The show features amateurs doing non-nude strip tease to their favorite music videos.
“It’s just an opportunity to bring something different than what we normally bring (to Cal Poly),” Broom said.
For next quarter, ASI is already planning a debate on intelligent design versus evolutionary theory, but Broom said the speakers have yet to be determined. She added that the True Life events will continue next year and occur quarterly.