Duke's campus defenders

The vibes coming from the Duke University campus about the lacrosse team party that has led to rape charges against two players are disturbing. Too many students are rallying about ''innocent until proved guilty.'' The university president is calling for a speedy resolution to an incident that "has brought pain and suffering to all involved.'' And the attorney for one of the accused dismissed the photographic identification as "we all know how reliable that is.''

Yes, the accused have the presumption of innocence. Yes, Duke would love to see the cloud lifted that is hanging over one of the nation's elite universities. Yes, the identification must be beyond dispute. But what about the alleged victim? And shouldn't investigators get to the bottom of what really happened at that party?

Let's hope that athletes at Duke -- or any school -- aren't put on such a high pedestal that they get an automatic pass for their off-field actions. And school officials should address any systemic problems this episode has exposed with the same vigor that they are addressing the accusations.