This is one of those civil liberties issues that seems like such a flagrant violation of First Amendment rights that it is shocking that colleges even dare to t

This is one of those civil liberties issues that seems like such a flagrant violation of First Amendment rights that it is shocking that colleges even dare to try to stamp it out, let alone get away with it. (Filming of police in public is another one.) But one of the reasons why colleges have moved in this direction is because of student complaints. Having to walk through a line of street preachers, leafleters, protesters, political advocates, etc. every day just to get to class can certainly be a minor hassle. This is the era of safe spaces, and although it's totally cool to have safe-space restrictions in private places, it's totally not cool to do the same in public spaces. Beyond that, having protesters with big signs and angry voices smack dab in the middle of the campus square can be embarrassing for school administrators, who are under pressure to make campus seem serene and idyllic to prospective students on a campus tour. So it can be really tempting, both from students' and administrators' point of view, to put restrictions on this kind of speech and confine protestors and others whom the university hasn't rubber-stamped to certain out-of-the-way locations. But the Constitution protects public speech even if it might cause minor inconvenience or irritation to students or administrators.