2020 Burst the Bubble

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.

2020 Burst the Bubble Programs

BTB001: A Global Kitchen: Cooking Dishes From Around The World
Facilitator(s): Austin Hays
Sponsoring Organization: 1999
M, Th 6,9,13,16,23
5pm-7pm
LaRose Kitchen

In this Burst the Bubble course I hope to use cuisine to teach others about the world around us. I am a passionate cook and love to travel and hope to bring my skills in the kitchen to Elon to teach students how to both cook varied dishes from around the world and the stories and heritage associated with the foods. I hope to highlight different cuisines form each continent and dive into the stories around the dishes.

BTB002: Art as Therapy
Facilitator(s): Lauren Siedlecki
Wednesdays 8, 15, 22
7pm-9pm | Sankey 206
Once a week we will meet to express ourselves using the creative outlet of fine art: I will introduce students to the basics of drawing, painting, coloring and sketching in order to relieve stress, find identity and comfort in our own skin.
BTB003: Art of Authenticity (AOA)
Facilitator(s):Elizabeth Peterson, Sydney Donaldson
Tuesdays 7,14,21
7 pm-8:30pm
Location: Irazu
The Burst the Bubble group we would like to create is a group that is focused on self-care and promotes open dialogues. Our main goal is to provide a modern support group for our generation using more casual meeting environments and fun activities. Support groups can be daunting and a lot of people feel like their problems are not big enough to seek help or talk about but we understand that even the small things shape a person and are valid. We want to attract people of all different backgrounds and groups on campus to come together to talk about real things. This group allows people to openly talk about their values, beliefs and what is going on in their lives without pressure and will create more meaningful relationships.
In order to create a comfortable environment we plan to hold meetings in casual settings like Oak House or other casual settings. We would also like to plan at least one activity for the group such as a yoga class, group hike, or art project.
BTB004: Cross Stitch 101
Facilitators: Alison Heilman, Sarah Hope Dolce
Wednesdays, 8, 15, 22
6:30pm – 8:30pm
Irazu
This program is ideal for those seeking a relaxing crafting experience, a fun social atmosphere, and the chance to learn a new skill. This course is geared towards cross stitching beginners, but all skill levels are welcome and encouraged to join. We will be teaching the whole process, from starting a project to finishing touches, such as french knots and outlining. After learning the basics on an Elon themed project you can delve into a pattern of your choice! You do not have to have experience with needles to join in the fun!
BTB005: Dreaming of the Future : Supporting the Women of Tomorrow
Facilitators: Caren Aveldanez, Joyce Llopis-Martell, Fiona Zahm
Mondays and Thursdays from 6pm-7pm (Jan 6,9,13,16, & 20th)
Sankey 104
To be a woman in modern America is no easy task: girls need to combat countless stereotypes, expectations, and a lack of support from other young women. The goal of this Burst the Bubble is to do just that, destroy the limitations surrounding us as women, BURST into the future with confidence in yourself, and build a community of empowered women. Unique to this course is our partnership with the CityGate Dream Center (an after school program for the whole community) where we will be serving as mentors for high school girls. Through our activities and discussions, we will learn from each other how to embrace one’s own identity, set goals for one’s future, critique media expectations of women, and celebrate all of our unique gifts and experiences.
Transportation will be provided to the Dream Center and brief training for the Protection of Minors certification will be conducted before starting. The themes covered in our meetings will be: who are we and what do we want, girl talk, goal setting, expectations and stereotypes of American women, global fashion and beauty, and a final fashion show!
BTB006: Exploring Handbells as a Musical Instrument
Facilitator: Katie Melton
Fridays 3,10,17: 7pm-8pm
Elon Community Church
The aim of this program would be to introduce hand bells to students. Participants will learn the history of hand bell ringing and how it has evolved to where it is now, as well as some example videos of highly skilled ringing ensembles, to show the potential of the instrument. Then the participants would have the opportunity to try ringing the bells and run through some core techniques. At the next session, participants would try a simple change ringing pattern, which is heavily tied to the origin of hand bells and promotes unity among the ringers of an ensemble. At the final session, participants would be given a malleted (short, staccato notes) section of pop music to play, with the notes clearly highlighted to allow them to follow along regardless of musical experience, so they can get a sense of how hand bells are capable of playing genres outside of Christmas carols or church hymns. Experience reading music or playing is not required.
BTB007: Global Beats: World Music Forum
Facilitator: Nihar Deshmukh
Mondays and Thursdays, 6,9,13,16,20,23
5pm-7pm | Global Commons 103
In this program, we will be looking at different genres of music, the history of music from each region and continent, and how it has influenced the music that we have today. Everybody will have a chance to share music and musical instruments from around the world. In this program, we will be playing traditional and non-traditional instruments, for example, if students have any musical instruments that they would like to share or explain about, the forum will allow students to exchange their knowledge. No experience is necessary, however active participation is highly desired. There will be opportunities for music trivia and some fun activities.
BTB008: Intro to Floral Design
Facilitator: Sydney Steinberg
Tuesdays 7,14,21
6pm – 8pm | Sankey 206
This introductory floral design course would begin by covering basic design principles such as rhythm, balance, proportion, and the most used color schemes in the field. In the first class, basic skills such as floral taping, flower wiring, and bow tying would be taught. In the second class, students would take the skills they learned from the first class and create their own single flower boutonnieres using greens, baby’s breath, and carnations or roses. In the final class, the skills would be expanded on further, and students will make their own wrist corsage using greens, baby’s breath, and multiple carnations or roses. After the course, participants will have beautiful boutonnieres and corsages, and will understand design principles that can be applied not only to floral design, but to any design field!
BTB009: Introduction to Dungeons and Dragons
Facilitator: Alexander Daly
Sponsoring Organization: Table Top Club
Fridays, 3,10,17 6pm-8:30pm | Belk 113
Participants will learn the basics of role-playing, how the game of Dungeons and Dragons works, and have them all begin playing their own games of Dungeons and Dragons. I would like to focus on how to craft a character, how the mechanics of the game itself works, and how to approach this awkward thing of role-playing. I would like to teach both potential players and potential dungeon masters, or game runners, and allow them both to try their ideas. I would also like to have a session of miniature painting, though this is secondary, it would be fun to get figures for all in the class, and paint, and allow them all to paint their own minis. At the end of the program, they should have new friends, a new group to hang out with and be able to competently participate in the world of tabletop rpgs.
BTB010: Knowing Your Rights: Students on a Private University Campus
Facilitators: Alexa Rasmussen, Michael Reed Price
Tuesdays, 7, 14, 21
4:30pm | Duke 203
We are very passionate about students knowing their rights, especially on private university campuses throughout the United States, which differs from public schools. We want to create a curriculum that is informative about these differences between private and public schools, what private school students rights are in general, and Elon University student conduct policy and the handbook policy most specifically. We want to ensure that students really know what Elon outlines as prohibited behavior, and what their rights are as outlined in our student conduct handbook.
BTB011: Show Me On The Mic Where Life Touched You: An Introduction to Standup Comedy
Facilitator: Riley Bradford
Tuesdays and Thursdays 7,9,14,16,21,23
5:00 PM- 6:30 PM | MCE 013
This course would focus on the basics of how to do standup comedy. In it, people would watch various successful comics and develop their own material with the desired outcome of a performance at the end of the course at Green Door Comedy Club.
BTB012: The Best Sports Broadcasting
Facilitator: Emmanuel Tobe
Sponsoring Org: Elon Phoenix Weekly
Tuesdays and Thursdays 7,9,14,16,21,23
5:00pm-6:00pm | Schar 205

Many people don’t understand the depth and complexities of sports broadcasting and they just see it as “people talking about sports”. I want to challenge those beliefs and really go into depth about the best sports anchors, broadcasters and segments. The main goal of this class would be to teach people to look deeper at the talent and segments in sports broadcasting and to create a space for people to feel open about sharing their opinions on different broadcasters and segments.
BTB013: Who are we: Bridging the Gap Between Domestic and International Students
Facilitator: Kaitlyn Welby, Zoe Budsworth, Ellie Thomas
Sponsoring Org: Global Education Center/International Student Services
Wednesdays 8, 15, 22
5pm-7pm | Global Commons 301
We will be following the idea of Who are we: Bridging the gap between Domestic and International Students and following three main themes: Stereotypes, food and culture, and why this all matters.
BTB014: Yiayia’s Kitchen
Facilitator: Alexander Xouris
Tuesdays 7,14,21
5-7pm | LaRose Kitchen
My mom is an immigrant from Cyprus and has cooked her whole life. Since I could walk, I have been helping her in the kitchen. I have grown up with an innate love and passion for cooking; food brings people together and there is nothing I cherish more than cooking a meal and sharing it with friends and family. My plan for this course is to share recipes, one to two per week, with my peers at Elon. My goal for the program is for students to walk away with recipes and experience with cooking traditional Greek Cypriot cuisine, as well as a deeper love for food and recognition of the power food has to connect us all.
BTB015: The Happiest Club on Earth
Facilitators: Taite Brown, Ashley D’Andrea, Eva Pierce
Fridays 6:30pm – 10:00 pm | Location: Global Commons 103
The Happiest Club on Earth will be a place where Disney lovers and movie watchers alike will be able to relax and enjoy nights spent reminiscing. Through Disney movies, Pixar shorts, and more nostalgia, we plan on releasing everyone’s inner child. In addition, we will provide popcorn, candy, and any other snacks that members would like during their movie watching experience.