@ryanrandall @jonny That's ... interesting. Because the Japanese campus from which I retired a couple of years ago (Nagoya University) had a central quad with planters arranged with exactly that aim, and in response to Vietnam war protests. (They're no ripping it up for a new building.)

OTOH the earlier protests lead to an agreement with the police that they would not enter campus grounds. Unlikely to hold if there were serious protests, but still important symbolism.