KinoCat

Hi @flatwhiteplease @anxietypersonified !   That's great to year about TA compensation. 
I'm starting the Cinema Studies PhD!   Excited to start, but also anxious about if/when everything will start.  The department said they "hope to have more information by May"  so we'll see.  I'm trying not to worry about it too much, it's all out of my control, etc, but it's hard not to jump to worst case scenario.
I'm coming from the U.S., so visas and border crossing is also a sense of uncertainty too.  I applied for "student family housing" since housing searching will likely be harder than it already would have been.  So fingers crossed!   Anyone in a similar boat?
 

I accepted UBC! I also got to chat with a current American student attending there and she had some great tips. Get a Canadian banking account early - she says you'll likely need it for paying for housing if off-campus since a lot of places require a Canadian bank. At least at UBC, tuition and fees can be paid with a US bank account however. And apply for NEXUS early if you will be driving back and forth across the border at all.

Thank you!!!  Best of luck on your choices!

Lived in Chicago for 4 years and did my masters at UChicago.  I agree with all of the advice above, but I'll lightly argue pro-car here.  The CTA is good, but getting out of Hyde Park to the rest of the city can be harder.  Friends who lived in Hyde Park pretty much stay in the neighborhood.  Parking near campus can be a pain, but is doable (and free) if you know where to look (not on the Midway). 
The biggest argument for pro-car, I think, is that it gives you flexibility of where you live.  You can find cheaper housing not necessarily in Hyde Park or off of a CTA line.  When I did my masters, I lived about ~20 minute drive away in Tri-Taylor, but the CTA would take over an hour, and I lived in a nice $1000/month 2bd apartment with my partner with very easy street parking (I think we got a very good deal on this apartment, but just letting you know what's out there).    

In some workplaces where workers have voted to unionize, but where the employer has not yet recognized the union, management will argue that a union isnt necessary because there’s already a group like this in place, which supposedly (according to the employer) already functions as a union, even though it affords workers none of the protections a union affords. The employer does this so that they don’t have to pay higher wages, better benefits, or give the workers any of the legal protections a union can give its workers
In short—and i fully concede that i know nothing about this situation in particular—my guess is that BU just doesn’t want to recognize the union because they’re afraid they might have to pay their grad students more if they did. 
 
This stinks, imo!

I agree with much of what @Rootbound said, as someone who is also at an institution with a really strong, active union. Not only has my union worked tirelessly to push for our best interests (and insure that, each year, we receive fair pay-- among other things), but it's been a huge part of enabling me to really understand how and to what extend the faculty in my department are on the side of the graduate students. The ways in which they support union activity full-heartedly and without question has made it clear that the faculty really see us as workers deserving of fair and equitable treatment. Seeing messages and actions of support from the faculty in my department has truly been a joy. 
Also, as another thing that's worth considering-- you might think about how supporting (or not supporting) unions aligns with what a department says their philosophical and material commitments are. Do they preach Marxism and diversity, and then try to quiet union activity? Those sorts of discrepancies are worth paying attention to, as they'll likely inflect the department culture. 

As a current grad student at a university with a very strong and active union, I can heartily endorse their importance. The current pandemic is obviously unprecedented and a relatively unique event, but the union here has gone to great lengths to successfully protect not only its members, but also graduate students on fellowship and other staff--actions that simply would not have happened without their work. Without a union, rather obviously, your labor can be more easily exploited by the institution, and grad students are near first on the exploitable list. Recently, the union here has negotiated with the administration over the implementation of a ridiculously short sighted class scheduling system that would have seriously impacted the commuting cost for instructors who don't live in the immediate area (many don't), and they've also made sure grad instructors are compensated fairly for the extra work of suddenly shifting a class online. There were some concerns about changing healthcare benefits for TAs earlier in the year, and the union was able to prevent any serious problems. I don't know how these issues would have been solved, at least as quickly as they were, without a union. 
 
More generally, a department in which both faculty and students are actively involved in the union creates an atmosphere of openness and engagement around labor or funding issues, as opposed to regarding these topics as impolite or even crass. I would be more concerned about the attitude of faculty toward their students' funding and well-being at an institution that "brutally crushed" unionization. This is not to say that without a union you will definitely be exploited and your advisor will wave you away when you come to ask for advice about funding, and more to emphasize that a union can have a very positive impact on your experience. Frankly (and ignorantly, without knowing more about the situation), I would be wary of an institution that so strongly opposed to unionization--not even trying to look like you act in the best interests of your employees is not promising. 

Congratulations!

I just accepted the offer to University of Toronto today!  They told me they "hope to have more information in May," so we'll see.

I'm in the same boat!  I'm pretty close to accepting their offer, but I haven't heard anything from them about border closures, etc.  I'm definitely nervous about how moving would work during all of this, and if the start of the program would be delayed and/or start online.  Reading some news about this, it looks like the Canadian government is working on exemptions for international students with Visas, so we'll see how it works out in the fall?
Everything seems so up the in the air right now, but I'm glad you made this thread for others in a similar position!

If you're not planning to already, make plans to talk on the phone/skype with professors!  And students if they're open to it!  I managed to have two visit days just before all of this started, and even though in person meeting is definitely invaluable, I feel like I had most of my questions answered and information given on phone calls. 
Questions:
 - Could you describe the structure of the program? Classes? Timeline? Basically just asking them to give you their spiel. Getting multiple professors to do this can also be revealing.
- What makes students successful in the program?
- What's the department social atmosphere like?
- What makes this program unique?
- Could you go into more detail about the funding package? When would I get paid (by semester? every few months?)? How negotiable is funding? (especially if you have other offers)
- How live-able is the city with the stipend (better question to asks students)
- How does teaching and research assistantships work? What kinds of classes would I be TAing? Are they all in my field, or would some of them be less related?
- Any additional paid work opportunities outside of the funding package?
- What kind of funding is available for conference and research travel?
- What's the job market like? (This question also reveals how optimistic/realistic/helpful their advising might be)
- Would you be able to provide financial assistance for moving costs?
- How would the department be able to support [your specific research interest] (This also gives you a chance to talk about your topic/interests and see how knowledgeable/helpful they are. Basically, how does it feel to talk about your ideas with them?)
- If your doing Art History, is there a good art scene in X city? (Gives you a chance to learn more about the place.)
FOR STUDENTS (in addition to the above questions):
- How is the faculty? Any to avoid? Ask students who are working with your POIs how they are as advisors/supervisors.
- Are there any politically oblivious faculty? ( a way of asking if there are any profs who are racist/sexist/oppressive to avoid)
- How livable is the place with the stipend? Where do you live? With roommates or partner or alone? Do they have financial support outside of the stipend (ie family, partners, etc)?
- Hows the social atmosphere with your cohort? With faculty?       
- How is TAing? Did you get to choose the classes you TA for?
- Talk about your work and their work. (Gets a sense of how you might fit socially/intellectually there)
- How did you make your decision to come here?  DEFINITELY ask this to multiple students if you can - is this a place people go because they want to be there? Or because they were accepted?
 
Again, I would really stress trying to have a phone call or a skype call to talk to people!  A big part of visiting is just getting the vibe, which is very hard over text!  You can tell a lot in a phone call!  And in their willingness to correspond with you too!
Hope this helps!
 

If you're not planning to already, make plans to talk on the phone/skype with professors!  And students if they're open to it!  I managed to have two visit days just before all of this started, and even though in person meeting is definitely invaluable, I feel like I had most of my questions answered and information given on phone calls. 
Questions:
 - Could you describe the structure of the program? Classes? Timeline? Basically just asking them to give you their spiel. Getting multiple professors to do this can also be revealing.
- What makes students successful in the program?
- What's the department social atmosphere like?
- What makes this program unique?
- Could you go into more detail about the funding package? When would I get paid (by semester? every few months?)? How negotiable is funding? (especially if you have other offers)
- How live-able is the city with the stipend (better question to asks students)
- How does teaching and research assistantships work? What kinds of classes would I be TAing? Are they all in my field, or would some of them be less related?
- Any additional paid work opportunities outside of the funding package?
- What kind of funding is available for conference and research travel?
- What's the job market like? (This question also reveals how optimistic/realistic/helpful their advising might be)
- Would you be able to provide financial assistance for moving costs?
- How would the department be able to support [your specific research interest] (This also gives you a chance to talk about your topic/interests and see how knowledgeable/helpful they are. Basically, how does it feel to talk about your ideas with them?)
- If your doing Art History, is there a good art scene in X city? (Gives you a chance to learn more about the place.)
FOR STUDENTS (in addition to the above questions):
- How is the faculty? Any to avoid? Ask students who are working with your POIs how they are as advisors/supervisors.
- Are there any politically oblivious faculty? ( a way of asking if there are any profs who are racist/sexist/oppressive to avoid)
- How livable is the place with the stipend? Where do you live? With roommates or partner or alone? Do they have financial support outside of the stipend (ie family, partners, etc)?
- Hows the social atmosphere with your cohort? With faculty?       
- How is TAing? Did you get to choose the classes you TA for?
- Talk about your work and their work. (Gets a sense of how you might fit socially/intellectually there)
- How did you make your decision to come here?  DEFINITELY ask this to multiple students if you can - is this a place people go because they want to be there? Or because they were accepted?
 
Again, I would really stress trying to have a phone call or a skype call to talk to people!  A big part of visiting is just getting the vibe, which is very hard over text!  You can tell a lot in a phone call!  And in their willingness to correspond with you too!
Hope this helps!