The late 1960s saw a period of student unrest, and university research centers that worked on contracts for the Department of Defense were often the site of student protests. Neither Georgia Tech nor EES became the focus of protests, and Long attributed this to the school's "conservative student body". For other reasons, however, EES became embattled financially and politically as a result of cuts in federal and state spending as well as cuts to the space program. Georgia Tech's academic units were similarly affected by these cuts, which helped rekindle the debate over EES' relationship with the school.