MONTPELIER -- Organizers of a 1984 Goddard College program slated for white women only said Thursday they regretted not including blacks, but were unaware that those students wanted to participate.

Patricia Lewis, 27, it black former student at Goddard, is suing the school, alleging she way barred from a program on racism because she is black. She is seeking compensation and damages.

"I left Goddard College because I was discriminated against," Lewis told the jurors during testimony Thursday. Lewis maintains she was so shaken by the situation that she was unable to complete her education or locate skilled work.

Lewis dropped out of Goddard shortly after the incident, returning to her hometown of New Haven, Conn., and working at a series of unskilled jobs.

The 12 white jurors hearing the case in Washington Superior Court before Judge Matthew Katz are expected to begin deliberation today following the attorneys' closing remarks.

Nicola Morris, the Goddard faculty adviser running the 1984 conference "Moon Over Vermont," a series of workshops on racism for white women, testified that Lewis expressed concern at the time that the group was somehow being Ku Klux Klan."

Morris also testified that she initially invited the sophomore to participate in either the workshops or the planning, adding, "It is absolutely clear in my mind that she did not want to be included in the anti-racism conference."

Lewis shot back, Morris "never invited me to the conference." Noting that she had confronted members attending the final workshop five years ago Lewis added, Morris "never asked me to stay. She asked me to leave."

Lewis' faculty advisor at Goddard Cora Brooks, has testified that the black student was upset about the conference, prompting Brooks to advise Morris before the program began that she considered the format "illegal."

Neil Mickenberg, representing Lewis, argued that statement should have acted as a warning to Morris. But Katz dismissed the comment, cautioning the jury, "We are here to determine whether Miss Lewis was excluded from the workshop on the grounds of race."

Morris and Tia Cross, a consultant to the 1984 conference, wrote a letter of apology to Lewis on June 5, 1984, shortly after the March workshops, stating that the black student should have been included in the program.

'The purpose (of the conference) was not to be exclusive. It was to be anti-racist and for white people to learn about racism.'
Tia Cross
consultant to racism conference

They also sent a letter 16 days later to the students, staff and faculty of Goddard stating why the series was set up for whites only, adding that it later became clear "students of color should have been involved in the planning."

Cross said she structured the conference for white women because she was informed black women chose not to participate. She later sought Lewis out after the final workshop to discuss the situation.

"I was upset that you were upset, Pat," Cross said to Lewis, who was seated in the courtroom. "I wanted to make sure you were OK.

"The purpose (of the conference) was not to be exclusive," she said. "It was to be anti-racist and for white people to learn about racism."

Also testifying Thursday was economist Milton Manwaring, who said Lewis may have suffered damages totaling nearly $100,000, including lost wages, tuition cost, and counseling fees.