NEW YORK — As classes at Columbia University resumed Monday, dozens of students and faculty protested sweeping policy changes demanded by the Trump administration and adopted by school leaders over spring break.

Neither President Trump’s threats to stamp out what he calls “wokeness” in higher education nor steady rain deterred protesters from rallying against Columbia’s acquiescence. Before the weekend, the university made a number of concessions to the federal government in a bid to restore $400 million in canceled contracts and grants.

Among the most consequential were new oversight of Middle Eastern studies and power of campus security to make arrests. For several professors, those measures were a step too far, prompting them to join the demonstrations for the first time.

“I just think it’s incredibly important for faculty to come out and protect academic freedom,” said Anya Schiffrin, a communications professor at the School of International and Public Affairs, after her first Columbia protest.

Columbia’s compliance does not guarantee that federal funding will be restored, but is instead a “precondition for formal negotiations regarding Columbia University’s continued financial relationship with the United States government,” according to a March 13 letter from three federal agencies, which outlined the demands.

On Sunday, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Columbia was on the “right track” to unfreeze federal funding. She spoke highly of “great conversations” with interim leader Katrina Armstrong, whom she credited as wanting to address “any systemic issues” giving rise to antisemitism on campus.

“Columbia is demonstrating appropriate cooperation with the Trump administration’s requirements, and we look forward to a lasting resolution,” McMahon said in a statement the next day.

Meanwhile at the faculty protest, professors chanted to “defend our research,” “defend our teaching,” and “defend our students.” Multiple signs called on Columbia to “fight back” against what they saw plainly as government overreach — a cause they said had support from across the political spectrum.

“There are some ardently pro-Zionist faculty who nevertheless realize how disastrous this situation is and were very upset about the detention of Mahmoud Khalil,” said Michael Thaddeus, a math professor, referring to the Columbia graduate student and green card holder being held in an immigration detention facility.

“So I think you’re going to see some strange bedfellows, actually,” he added. “You’ll see some coalitions being built between people who hold very different views about Israel and Gaza, but all united in rejecting this affront to academic freedom.”

After the demonstration, Columbia released a statement saying it was “fully committed” to the steps announced last week and would balance its core functions as a university with protections for free speech. Spokesmen would not answer questions about negotiations with the federal government or the policy changes themselves.

“We respect that there will be vigorous debate on campus about issues of academic freedom and protest, and we welcome that debate,” read the statement, which was unsigned.

On campus, which remains closed to the public, photos and videos posted by pro-Israel students showed dozens of their peers trudging through the rain, alongside the lawns that were once the site of the Columbia encampments. The majority of protesters pictured wore face masks as they marched, despite a mask ban implemented as part of the government’s demands with exceptions for students’ health.

“Welcome back from spring break @Columbia. Despite erroneous reports of a ‘mask ban’ and ‘capitulation,’ protests (with masks!) are continuing,” read the X post from Columbia Jewish & Israeli Students. “Capitulation in name only.”

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