ASUWT election results and plans for next year

ASUWT’s newly elected officers weigh in on their plans and goals for the upcoming academic year.

By Michaela Ely

ASUWT’s elections took place from April 20-24 and the election results were released at 5 p.m. April 27 via email. Most votes were for members of the ACT ticket, including the roles of ASUWT president and vice president. The ACT ticket stands for accountability, consistency and transparency, and ran on issues that directly impact UWT’s student population. 

The 2026-2027 academic year will see Terrell Stalworth as ASUWT’s new president. Stalworth ran on the issues of food, parking and housing, as well as ensuring accountability and transparency within ASUWT’s processes. Stalworth was this year’s ASUWT City Liaison and cited this experience throughout his campaign, and in an interview with The Ledger he expanded on how this experience has prepared him for his new role.   

“I’d say, already having these connections, already understanding how the city council functions, has been very effective for getting started on a lot of these priorities. A lot of these priorities can only be solved at the city level. So obviously something like parking, especially along the street, is something that the administration has less control over, and that’s something more of a city thing,” Stalworth told The Ledger. 

Stalworth also told The Ledger that he anticipates a much smoother year for ASUWT. He told The Ledger that he is committed to getting positions filled over the summer to ensure a smooth transition into the next academic year. The position turnover for ASUWT members officially begins after Commencement, which is June 12 this year. 

“I believe that this team has some of the trust from the students. I talked to a lot of students every day. I think hopefully a lot of students know who I am, and you know what my mission is. So I think that’s going to be a big change,” Stalworth said. “I know I have the support from my team. A lot of the members who I campaigned with are also a part of student government now. So I think we really just feel like we have the general support, not just from each other, but from the student body.” 

Stalworth plans on using the connections that he has formed through his position as ASUWT City Liaison to help address the issues that the ACT ticket ran on: food, housing and parking. 

“I know these are very big problems for students, so if we can make any sort of movement on them, then I’d be pretty happy with how this administration went. I’m also just looking forward to, like, meeting new people, meeting new students, meeting new ad administrators, city council members, city officials, just meeting new people in general,” Stalworth told The Ledger. 

The 2026-2027 academic year will see Michael Allosada, current ASUWT Campus Organizer, as the new vice president. Allosada has previous experience in being a student body president and has been preparing himself for the role since the election results. 

“One thing that I’ve been doing ever since I was informed that I won the election is trying to learn about the role more, because you can only learn so much from what’s written in the [ASUWT] Constitution, what’s in the bylaws and all that stuff. So, you know, I’ve been working close with Maxwell, asking questions,” Allosada told The Ledger. 

Allosada cites the incoming team’s previous experience in various roles in ASUWT as a strength going into this next academic year, especially when challenges may arise.  

“In my eyes, I think we’re all well equipped with people who know how to handle these challenges and people who may know people who can handle these challenges. You know, I think one of the privileges I had that I have as someone who has worked with ASUWT either officially or unofficially, I have a view of what it’s like to be inside ASUWT, and what it’s like to be outside of ASUWT. And so having that perspective, I think, is important,” Allosada said. “Also we have some connections with people in the UWT administration, and who we know we can trust, who we know we can rely on and lean on. I think that we have the connections necessary to push forward what we need to do.” 

Current Speaker of the ASUWT Senate Bryce Scholten also spoke with The Ledger about the upcoming academic year and his new role on the ASUWT executive board. 

“I am excited to be the 2026-27 ASUWT Director of Equity & Accessibility. Wrapping up spring 2026, I hope the outgoing and incoming administration work together to set up the 2026-27 team well. By the end of summer I want to have all of the task force and IDEA committee members trained, and have goals for the year. My team and I will follow through on the outlined objectives during the traditional academic year,” Scholten told The Ledger. “I’m excited to flesh out this role more in the coming year as well as build relationships with on & off campus partners, RSOs and the student body. Some goals I have set are gathering data on the student body regarding their experiences here at UW Tacoma, hosting collaborative events and stabilizing existing programs that students consistently use.”  

Maxwell Kao, ASUWT’s former Director of Internal Affairs and current vice president, won his election for the Director of Outreach position. Kao told The Ledger that his position is particularly influential as it involves reaching students on campus and beyond. 

“Collaboration with RSOs and community groups with be the first priority as ASUWT will be focusing on cementing itself as a champion of student resources and advocacy through the campus,” Kao said. “By the end of summer, plans will be drawn to help promote on-campus community events to expand RSOs outreach to benefit the community, including but not limited to reposting all campus events on social media, and the distribution of more guides on accessing campus resources.” 

ASUWT’s newly elected officers will take office after UWT’s Commencement ceremony on June 12.