2008 Woodie Awards
UCM Professor/Activist Gains Respect, Nickname 'Dr. Love'
Jason Hamilton/Muleskinner
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: Features
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In a time when flowers had power and the Vietnam war was tearing the nation to bits, there was Steve Ciafullo, more commonly known as Dr. Love today.
This doctor doesn't practice medicine, or hold a Ph.D. in anything. His practice is in the art of love and loving.
It's not his long grey hair, handlebar mustache or Birkenstock sandals that give you an idea of what era this guy came from. His language is drenched in hippie terminology, and his clothes are colorful, with the faint scent of Patchouli oil.
There's a colorful wall treatment hanging in his office as a tribute to his favorite band, the Grateful Dead. The random words of defiance and rebellion give you a brief window into Ciafullo's past as an activist.
When asked where he is from, "Bayonne, New Jersey," he said quickly, "where [Muhammad] Ali pummeled Chuck 'the Bayonne Bleeder' Wepner."
"When I was 11-years old, we moved to Raytown, Mo.," he added. "It was culture shock for me, coming from the city to the suburbs in the Midwest."
"I come from an Italian and Irish household," he said, "and we were poor."
He said growing up poor helped build strong character. Even more surprising, he was raised in a conservative home.
"Coming up, some of my heroes were Jackie Robinson [who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers], Martin Luther King Jr., and Bobby Kennedy," he said. "I got to see Jackie Robinson play when I was a kid."
He was 18 when his life and political stances changed.
"It was 1968, and I had just filled out my draft card," he said, "and about two weeks later, three of my friends came home from Nam in body bags."
He also watched the media helplessly, as he saw two of his heroes, King and Kennedy, assassinated in the heat of the Civil Rights movement.
Despite these traumatic events in his life, Ciafullo joined the Air Force in 1968. He admits to having anti-war war sentiments when going into the military.
This doctor doesn't practice medicine, or hold a Ph.D. in anything. His practice is in the art of love and loving.
It's not his long grey hair, handlebar mustache or Birkenstock sandals that give you an idea of what era this guy came from. His language is drenched in hippie terminology, and his clothes are colorful, with the faint scent of Patchouli oil.
There's a colorful wall treatment hanging in his office as a tribute to his favorite band, the Grateful Dead. The random words of defiance and rebellion give you a brief window into Ciafullo's past as an activist.
When asked where he is from, "Bayonne, New Jersey," he said quickly, "where [Muhammad] Ali pummeled Chuck 'the Bayonne Bleeder' Wepner."
"When I was 11-years old, we moved to Raytown, Mo.," he added. "It was culture shock for me, coming from the city to the suburbs in the Midwest."
"I come from an Italian and Irish household," he said, "and we were poor."
He said growing up poor helped build strong character. Even more surprising, he was raised in a conservative home.
"Coming up, some of my heroes were Jackie Robinson [who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers], Martin Luther King Jr., and Bobby Kennedy," he said. "I got to see Jackie Robinson play when I was a kid."
He was 18 when his life and political stances changed.
"It was 1968, and I had just filled out my draft card," he said, "and about two weeks later, three of my friends came home from Nam in body bags."
He also watched the media helplessly, as he saw two of his heroes, King and Kennedy, assassinated in the heat of the Civil Rights movement.
Despite these traumatic events in his life, Ciafullo joined the Air Force in 1968. He admits to having anti-war war sentiments when going into the military.
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