Meet the Candidates

DaNae Estabine

DaNae Estabine is a junior at the University of Kansas studying Psychology and Philosophy on the pre-law track. She is an Honors program student, Legal Education Accelerated Degree program student, Multicultural Scholars Program scholar, Dole Institute of Politics Hemenway Public Service Award recipient, KU's 2024-2025 Newman Civic Fellowship nominee, and Truman Scholar finalist. She also served as an RA in Self Hall. In her current role, Estabine serves as the Student Body Vice President for the University of Kansas.

Accomplishments as Student Body Vice President 2023 - present:

• Hosted the first ever Student Senate Tailgate (open to all students) with free, food, games, and prizes, during this past 2023 football season. 

• Worked with KU Athletics to create a free raffle for 5 students each men's basketball home game to get tickets for themselfs and a friend to attend the game in a reserved seated area.

• Produced Student Senate's first ever merchandise and worked with the KU Bookstore to get it sold there. This created a new source of revenue for Student Senate and increased the amount of funding available for student organizations.

• Hosted a Student Senate lead job site for KU’s annual fall Big Event day of giving.

• Championed the renewal of the Spooner Hall Courtyard. This had become an over grown garden that DaNae has been working to restore into a beautiful outdoor lounge/study space. 

• Worked with the KU Access Center to get a text to speech software (Read&Write) free for all students on campus to be able to access.

• Worked with KU's maintenance team to get more water bottle filling stations installed in various buildings on campus.

• Increased transparency between Student Senate and the greater student body through working with the UDK to start a monthly article that updated readers on what the Student Body President and Student Body Vice President had been working on. Additionally, utilizing the Student Senate Youtube channel, she created educational resources available for the student body to reference.

• Planned and hosted the annual Big XII on The Hill conference this year on behalf of KU. This conference in Washington, D.C.  is where student representatives lobby on behalf of fellow students for particular causes. She advocated for College Affordability, NIL, and support for the Mental Health implications from both.

• Lobbied on behalf of students at the annual State Higher Education Day, at the state capitol in Topeka. She advocated for college affordability, investment in facility renewal and open educational resources.

• Co-hosted Student Senate’s annual Holiday’s and Higher Education event, this year at the new and incredible Banner’s Pub in Allen Fieldhouse where she then supported our lady Jayhawks while watching the woman’s basketball team play against HCU.

• Attended and presented at the Big XII Student Government Conference, hosted at TCU, on behalf of KU’s Student Senate.

• Wrote and passed the following constitutional amendments:

  • A Bill to amend Title VI, Article V, Section 2, subsection 3 of the Student Senate Constitution

    • This bill provides campaign funds of $1,000 for each Presidential and Vice Presidential campaign.

  • A Bill to Amend Title VI, Article III, Section 2 of the Student Senate Constitution

    • This bill shortened the Student Senate spring election season from being 3 months long to just about less than 2 months. 

  • A Bill to Amend Title Five, Article II, Section 9 of the Student Senate Constitution 

    • This bill created a resource closet where student organizations put decorations/materials after they are finished using these items they bought from Student Senate funding. This helped reduced waste in spending and created easier access to resources for student organizations.

Overall Experience in Student Senate 2021 - present:

• Student Senate’s Government Relations Director (2022 – 2023)

• SenEx member (2022 – present)

• University Senate member (2022 – present)

• University Athletic Committee member (2023 – present)

  • Women's Basketball Advisory Committee (2024 – present)

• University Athletics Advisory Board Committee member (2023 – present)

• Watkins Health System Governance Committee member (2023 – present)

• University Daily Kansan Advisory Board (2023 – present)

• University Parking Commission member (2022 – 2023)

• University Transit Commission member (2022 – 2023)

• Fee Review Committee member (2022 – present)

• Educational Opportunity Fund Committee member (2023 – present)

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Fund Board member (2021 – 2022)

• Student Senate’s Social Justice Council member (2023 – present)

• Student Senate’s Student Rights Council member (2022 – 2023)

• Student Senate’s Finance Council member (2021 – 2022)

• As the Government Relations Director, hosted the Big XII Student Government Conference on our campus.

• As the Government Relations Director, she lead KU's team of student representatives to lobby on behalf of students for College Affordability and Mental Health resources at the annual Big XII on The Hill conference in Washington, D.C. In doing this, she researched and composed a 10 page document outlining the Mental Health needs of students on KU's campus.

• Co-planned and attended State Higher Education day last year at the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka and advocated for college affordability and facility renewal.

• Personally wrote and passed 5 funding bills over the past three years, granting various student organizations funding for their clubs and events.

• Been a part of the hiring for the new University Ombuds (2022).

• Been a part of the hiring of the new Dean for the College of Liberal Arts & Science (2023) .

• Been a part of the hiring of the new Dean for the School of Engineering (2023).

• Been a part of the hiring for the new Dean for the School of Music (2023).

Other Activities:

• Phi Alpha Delta (pre-law fraternity)

• Her Campus 

• Previous intern for U.S. Senator Jerry Moran

• Intern for Kansas State Representative Barbara Ballard

• Substitute Teacher in the Lawrence School District

• Director of the Johnson County Fair Pie Contest 

• Olathe Fishing Derby Board Member

• Mothers of Pre-Schoolers (MOPS) Volunteer

• KDWPT Certified Fishing Instructor & Fishing’s Future Volunteer

• Outside of Student Senate she enjoys hunting and fishing with loved ones, working out (while listening to Nicki Minaj exclusively), reading thought provoking books, hanging out with friends, and exploring new places in Lawrence.

DaNae Delivers: Making Your KU Experience Unforgettable!

Evanna Dominic

Evanna Dominic is a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering. She is a SELF fellow and involved in the KU Honors program. She is also a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority. 

Experience in Student Senate:

• Engineering Student Senator (2023 – present)

• Student Senate’s Finance Council member (2023 – present)

• University Senate member (2024 – present)

• Lobbied on behalf of students at the annual State Higher Education Day, this year. She advocated for college affordability, investment in facility renewal and open educational resources.

• She has written several bills for the school of engineering organizations including, Engineering Student Council and the Society of Women Engineers.  

Other Activities:

• Alpha Delta Pi

• Society of Women Engineering

• St. Lawrence Catholic Center

• Engineering Student Council

• 2022 Coke Scholar

Evanna: Igniting Spirit, Inspiring Change!