A proposed grounds committee failed for the second week in a row at an Oct. 3 Student Senate meeting with a 16-19 vote.

Senate Vice President Marcus McGuire said he was not pleased.

“We’re not trying to make a committee for no reason,” said McGuire. “The committee should have passed with the way it was presented.”

McGuire said he has a plan to get the committee established, however.

“Myself and other senators plan to present another amendment that would include the same responsibilities as the grounds committee under another committee.”

Mike Cerveris was one of the senators to vote against the committee. He said he was not opposed to the idea, but had a different way of looking at it.

“(The grounds committee) needs to be thought of in a different light,” said Cerveris. “There are better ways to do things than what was proposed.”

Cerveris said he had his own plan to deal with grounds issues.

“The grounds committee is too big for a single person to take on, and it is too little for a standard committee,” he said. Cerveris did not provide specifics.

Following the committee’s failure, Sen. Allen Skoranski brought up a problem with Krebs Hall heating. President Cliff Maloney responded by saying that issues such as heating in Krebs would have fallen within grounds committee purview.

But two new committees have been added this year: International Relations and Commuter Relations.

Sophomore International Relations chair Kevin Egede said his committee is to serve as a liaison between the International Services office and international students.

Egede said UPJ administrators had been looking for a way to bring more international students to the campus, and, as an international student from Nigeria, Egede said he feels he can help.

“I definitely think (student government) can have a signifi cant impact on (bringing in more international students).”

Egede also said that the committee can help international students voice their opinions, and participate on campus. More international students can help university offi cials encourage learning through diversity.

The commuter relations committee is to help commuters feel more connected to the campus. Sophomore chair and former commuter David Romani said that he hopes to make things easier for commuters.

“One-third of students are commuters, and I feel I can be a voice,” he said.

Romani also spoke of a Commuter Appreciation Day.

Although a date has not been set, Romani said it will be held within a month.