We cannot let them be right.

It is our responsibility to educate ourselves on what is going on around us. Since his inauguration, President Barack Obama has appointed 30 to 32 czars — depending on your definition of czar, although most media outlets are defining it as an adviser appointed by the president who does not have to be confirmed by the Senate.

Who are these people? What kind of power do they have? What is the criterion used for appointment?

These are all things that we need to know and understand. If we don’t take the time to learn, we are just setting ourselves up to be stereotyped as ignorant.

These czars do not have to face congressional scrutiny, so it is up to the general public to be aware and speak up when something doesn’t seem right. They have huge authority in federal departments and an enormous amount of power.

Former green jobs czar, Van Jones, was a self-proclaimed communist who blamed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on U.S. officials. Yet he still was appointed, and only was forced to resign after the general public began scrutinizing his past comments and behavior.

Simply do the research. Urban czar, information czar, pay czar, regulatory czar … the list goes on.

Are these necessary? Are they constitutional? Even Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., a top Democrat in the Senate, has spoken out against the appointment of these czars, saying that they are unconstitutional.

An important component of our democracy is the questioning of authority. Why don’t college students lead the questioning this time, instead of being seen as the ignorant and uniformed?

Get the facts, take a stance, have an opinion, speak out.

Ashley Towner

criminal justice and political science senior and vice chairwoman of the MSU College Republicans