HTML <p> removal
 

Hello!

So, I'm trying to edit the html in my wordpress sidebars and eliminate the extra spacing.
I was able to remove <p> and save it once, but the second I went back to it, all of the <p> that I had erased to eliminate the extra spacing was back.
Is there a specific place to find additional html that will eliminate the <p> permanently and get ride of the spacing between lines?

This is what I'm working with.

<h2>About the Department</h2>
<p><a title="Our Newsletter" href="http://history.web.unc.edu/about-us-2/a-message-from-the-chair/">Department Newsletter</a></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://history.web.unc.edu/people-2/">People</a></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://history.web.unc.edu/graduate-program/">Graduate Program</a></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://history.web.unc.edu/undergraduate-program/">Undergraduate Program</a></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://history.web.unc.edu/what-we-study/">What We Study</a></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://history.web.unc.edu/courses/">Courses</a></p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://history.web.unc.edu/international-collaborations/">International Collaborations</a></p>
<hr />
<p>Media Center</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://history.web.unc.edu/department-news/">Department News Archives</a></p>
<hr />

1) what version of Atahualpa and WP?
2) this is really not a theme question
3) what widget are you using? - I just tried it with the text widget with no problems
4) have you tried disabling all your plugins to see if one is causing it