David Cullen's been pointing out that the rape/attempted rape statistics at the Air Force Academy are lower than for the general college population. He's right, despite the Roiphean attempts to claim otherwise.
I think it is a fair media criticism. My guess is the failure of the media to properly contextualize these statistics is due to a) hyping a big story and b) the memories of the wingnut howls when anyone dares point out the Very High incidences of college rape.
On the other hand, though, the Air Force Academy isn't just any institution. It isn't just any elite institution. It's a place where the best and brightest are trained for military careers, and where a high degree of discipline is thought to exist. It's fair for people to be shocked about these "high" numbers even if the numbers are "less high" than one finds elsewhere.
In addition, the scandalous part of this scandal was the failure of the school's administration to deal with complaints when they were made, and to actually discipline the victims.
Is the Air Force Academy being held to a higher standard? Well, perhaps, but I'm not sure that's entirely unreasonable. Should the media provide better context? Yes, as usual.
