2017 Burst the Bubble Programs

Burst the Bubble programs are free, student-led, non-credit sessions where students who have a talent, interest, or skill share their knowledge with their peers. Burst the Bubble programs are offered during Winter Term and are open to all students at Elon University. Burst the Bubble programs do not include homework, tests, outside assignments or grades. There is no faculty or staff involvement in facilitating the programs.

BTB 001: Dungeons and Dragons: How to play

Facilitator: Kevin Koberg and Joey Machado
Tuesdays and Thursdays 7:00pm-8:30pm
Spaces Available: 20

This program will teach students the many ways to play Dungeons and Dragons and how to have fun with the different worlds that can be created with this game. Participants in this program will learn how to create a character, how to play with that character and how to have fun role playing in such a diverse and fantastic world. Furthermore, it will also teach them how to become a Dungeon Master and how to forge their own narratives and worlds. We will cover 4th edition and its many intricacies. The program will also end with a campaign led by the facilitators of the program, along with those participants who wish to test their skills at being a Dungeon Master!

BTB 002: Capes, Cowls, and Masks: The History and Reality of Your Favorite Superheroes

Facilitator: Joshua Bothwell
Tuesdays 4:30pm-6:30pm
Spaces Available: 20

This program would take an in depth look at what movies, tv shows, and pop culture get right and wrong with superheroes and villains. Who is better? Marvel or DC? Is Batman truly as great as people think? Who was right in the Civil War? Should “supers” be registered under the government? Come and find out the answers to all these questions and more.

BTB 003: A Brief History of Nintendo and Why It Matters

Facilitator: Marshall Brown
Tuesdays and Thursdays 5:00pm-6:00pm
Spaces Available: 30

This program will outline Nintendo video game history, including lectures and group game play sessions. You will learn about the impact that Nintendo has had on the game industry in its existence since 1889, all detailed by someone who’s played Nintendo games since he was very young.

BTB 004: Daily (Coffee) Grind

Facilitator: Mitchell Linder
Thursdays 5:30pm-6:30pm
Spaces Available: 15

We will be exploring the complexity and depth of making great coffee. There are several coffee drinks, ranging from espresso to latte macchiatos, that are famous because of regional identity, social media, and outstanding flavor profiles. We will discuss how specialty coffee transforms from a fruit at a farm to a drink in your cup. You will get the chance to be a real barista by learning how to steam milk on a commercial espresso machine, and also learn how to brew great coffee in your home. Then we will do a coffee cupping where we will identify the different flavor profiles within each cup. If you have no coffee knowledge, or are already a coffee snob then I welcome you to let me walk you through the most consumed beverage in the world. By the end you will understand why buying from local businesses like Irazu and the Oak House means so much more than just being a place to get your daily fix. Come join me for a fresh, complex, and delicious coffee power hour.

BTB 005: The Game’s Afoot

Facilitator: Chuckie Hawes
Fridays 6:00pm-8:00pm
Spaces Available: 30

Somewhere in life you may have stopped playing games. Because you got too old? Because you’re too busy? Because you couldn’t find people to play with? These are no longer excuses that work! As human beings we need interaction and intellectual engagement to stay mentally and socially healthy. This program will not only introduce new games (board, group, social, word, video, tabletop, and teamwork) and teach how to play these games, but also discuss what styles of games are popular, which kinds succeed in different applications, and why it is extremely beneficial for our health to keep playing games. These games will also be played at our meetings to enjoy and experience the creative mind-work that is generated by them. Come prepared to have fun!

BTB 006: Garbage Time – Sports Associated

Facilitators: Brandon Reynolds and Miles Moore
Wednesday 6:30pm-8:30pm
Spaces Available: 30

“I don’t believe there is such a thing as a ‘born’ soccer player. Perhaps you are born with certain skills and talents, but quite frankly it seems impossible to me that one is actually born to be an ace soccer player” — Pelé

In this program, we will discuss topics of “The Beautiful Game”, the NBA, the NFL, the NHL, and more and bond over what we find as our true love – sports. Video game consoles will be provided (and you are encouraged to also bring your own if the console of your choice is not already provided) so that participants can put their knowledge of sports to the test.

BTB 007: Painting with Watercolors

Facilitator: Sarah Hennenkamp
Mondays 5:00pm-6:00pm
Spaces Available: 25

During this program, students will have the opportunity to escape from the stress of classes and learn the fundamentals of painting with watercolors. All levels are welcome, as the program will cover everything from the basics to unique techniques. New approaches to painting will include the use of salt, straws, and rubber cement to achieve interesting textures and incorporate negative space within compositions. Students can use the techniques demonstrated to illustrate a subject of their own choosing in a relaxing and encouraging environment.

BTB 008: Still I Rise: Creative outlets for coping with modern racial tension and oppression in America

Facilitators: Victoria Murphy and Chloe Allen
Tuesdays and Thursdays 6:00pm-7:00pm
Spaces Available: 30

We will analyze, discuss, and attempt to utilize different creative outlets such as spoken word, music, writing, and other art forms to effectively cope with modern racial tension and oppression in America. Think Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Maya Angelou, the viral videos you’ve seen of spoken word artists performing, to name a few. Artists are not the only ones who can do this- we can learn from them. We have the power and creativity to use our feelings and pain. Our vision is that we as students propel our emotions towards beauty, even when it seems impossible, so that we can inspire others and connect to each other in the way we all crave. In this program, we will learn from each other, look to notable public figures, and tap into our own creativity to productively communicate our hurt and anguish without letting it defeat us.

The structure of the program will include the viewing and reading of impactful pieces already created, discussion and reaction to those pieces, a time for self-reflection, and multiple opportunities for students to produce their own works. We are excited for this and hope you will be as well!

BTB 009: The Maker Movement

Facilitators: Zachary O’Connor, Emma Boniche, Alex Zaterka, Lawrence Mullen, Anthony Fraden, Maddie Chilli, Josh Donnald, and Jourdan Parham
Student Organization Sponsoring: Elon Maker Hub
Tuesdays 6:00pm-7:00pm
Spaces Available: 20

The maker movement is sweeping the nation to get everyone back into making, designing and inventing, tinkering, and learning skills through projects and prototyping. The program will include new maker movement ideas and concepts that have been going on over the past years throughout the United States. This program will allow students and staff to participate in a project where they can take a skill away along with a tangible object. The outcome goal is for students to take something away and apply it to their life as well as relate it to the maker movement.

BTB 010: College on a Budget (and Beyond)

Facilitators: Ray Brown and Matthew Norrito
Tuesdays 11:45am-12:45pm
Spaces Available: 30

Going through college on a budget? Want to learn the ins and outs of how to stretch your dollar while at Elon? Well then this Burt the Bubble program is for you. We will not only diverge into the best way to make the most out of your Elon experience without breaking the bank, but help give you the tools you need to continue financial stability post-graduation and beyond. Get real-world tips from Elon students like yourself, and learn from their mistakes and triumphs.

BTB 011: Navigating Elon: The Stories We Share

Facilitator: Kenneth Brown Jr.
Thursdays 5:30pm-6:45pm
Spaces Available: 18

This program will delve into how we break the status quo of Elon University. If we really want to change our world, then we have to acknowledge the different backgrounds and privileges we have. We have to be willing to understand and listen to the stories that make up ourselves. Each week, there will be a different theme. We’ll talk about the theme for a little bit then go into how we interact with these themes personally, socially, etc. If you want to learn about others, make friends, and begin to break down barriers, this program is for you.

BTB 012: The Virginity Myth: Is it time to “lose” this social construct?

Facilitators: Nicky Kratzer and Sara Blough
Wednesdays 7:00pm-8:00pm
Spaces Available: 12

Does virginity really exist? If you were to consult the Harvard Medical Library, you wouldn’t find any sort of a definition for virginity. This popular concept, which is more often than not prescribed only to those who identify with the female gender, permeates through a number of global societies including American society. This program will explore the “Virginity Myth” itself (What are cherries, and do they really “pop”? Can a virginity really be “lost” or “taken”?), the gaps in sexuality education in the United States (Is the hymen real? Does it always break the first time an anatomically female person has penile-vaginal sex?), and the ways that popular media perpetuates the idea that virginity equals purity (What is the Madonna-Whore complex? What do we teach young children about the worth their gender can contribute to society as it relates to their sexuality?).

BTB 013: Modern Cooking

Facilitators: Erik Borchers and Melynn Oliver
Student Organization Sponsoring: Elon Cooking Club
Fridays 6:00pm-7:30pm
Spaces Available: 8

Come learn how to cook with modern techniques. The food we make will lean towards the healthy side. No experience is necessary!