Governor Sundquist’s budget proposal for higher education for the 1997–98 year included a cut of $40 million and a $6.4 million cut for UT Knoxville. The total reduction, when fixed cost increases were added, amounted to a 6.6 percent decrease of $9.8 million. The budget cut for academic affairs totaled $7,151,464. The only academic program recommended for elimination was the School of Planning (a unit within the College of Architecture and Planning), but all colleges reduced untenured staff and reduced course offerings. The chancellor’s office eliminated the Office of the University Historian and the Ombuds Office as part of its 10.7 percent cut. The SGA sent a committee to Nashville to lobby against the cuts, and a coalition of students, Students Against Cuts in Higher Education, held a rally and protest at the Legislative Plaza in Nashville in April. An 8 percent hike in tuition saved numerous classes. Other protest efforts included a student-led letter/email writing campaign to the Governor and the Tennessee General Assembly, in which they shared their personal stories and why they were against the budget cuts.