The "r-word"

Melinda is the protagonist in Speak--one of the core novels for freshman English at our high school. Speak is Melinda's journey of healing--a journey that becomes necessary after Melinda is raped at a party.

The question on the reading quiz was, "What happened between Andy and Melinda at the party?" The correct answer? Andy raped Melinda. They were afraid to use the "r-word." They just couldn't bring themselves to write it, so they wrote:
"He tried inappropriate things with Melinda."
"He had sex with Melinda when she didn't want to."
"They were both drunk and so he did stuff with her, and she tried to stop him."

I gave them the points, of course, but I kept thinking, "No. She was RAPED."

The word is awful. It's strong. It's scary.

So is the thing it describes.

We shouldn't try to make rape less than it is by using euphemisms.

And it didn't happen because she was drunk. It didn't happen because she shouldn't have been alone with him. It didn't happen because she was a freshman talking to an older boy. It happened because he chose to rape her.

Let's call it like it is.