Penn Med student Tim Soo has combined a few of our favorite things: Wiimotes, iPhones, and Bruno Mars (psych on that last one). With his new Invisible Instrument app, Soo has created an awesome way to simulate a whole range of musical instruments, from drums to the violin to a guitar. Soo says he came up with the idea when he was short a violin for a performance in a music theory class, and from there, “the concept took hold.” There’s also a Kickstarter page for the project, so if you’d like to see this app become a full fledged reality, that’s at least one way to help out.

Tomorrow night from 6 to 9 PM, student group Abuse and Sexual Assault Prevention (ASAP) will be holding its annual Take Back the Night peaceful protest to raise campus awareness of sexual assault and and violence. The event kicks off with a rally on College Green at 6 PM, and is followed by a march at 6:45 and a candlelight vigil at 7:30. The vigil will also play host to a “Survivor Speakout,” which gives victims of sexual violence a chance to share their stories and experiences. Head over when you can to show your support.

After a week of voting, self-promoting, and slogan-toting, the ballots have been counted and the winners confirmed. That’s right: the incoming UA and class boards have officially been elected. Take a look at the winners below, even if you voted for “the other guy.”

UA President: Tyler Ernst

UA Vice President: Faye Cheng

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There are a few constants in this world: Death. Taxes. The earth continuing to orbit the sun. And of course, student government candidates making promotional videos. This year’s crop has a distinctly musical bent, making the already strong case against autotune even stronger. Behold – 2011′s most meme-friendly requests for your vote! We’ve got our ratings/”endorsements” after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Spotted at 34th and Walnut: A blimp. Or a dirigible. Or a zeppelin? Or an alien spacecraft. The point is, it’s some kind of balloon, and we have no idea what it’s doing there. Our current best guess is that it’s in transit to or from an engineering building. If you can shed light on what exactly is happening here, please do so in the comments or drop us a line at tips@underthebutton.com.

Blackboard is the worst – it’s always crashing, terribly laid out, and it’s downright user un-friendly. With this in mind, junior Dan Getelman and sophomore Joseph Cohen set out to right the wrongs of the counter-intuitive course management service by launching Coursekit. The site’s design is significantly smoother looking than that of Blackboard, and at this stage in the game, the site is partially user-maintained and directed. It even keeps track of due dates and assignments, which sounds especially handy to automatically have all in one place. Students can sign up to manage courses on the site, with a possible payout of up to $200 per course over the entirety of a semester. It’s only active for a few courses that are in the testing stages right now, but it’s possible that service will be expanded in the coming months.

Mashable describes the site as “a Facebook-like Learning Management System,” but the aesthetics make us think “tumblr” more than anything else. Twee, but like, in a good way.

In spite of inclement (read: actually just pretty unpleasant) weather, an enormous line has formed for Fling concert floor passes. Not since Michelle Obama visited campus back in November (or the first day of finals) have we seen a line like this. Good job, everyone. May you all get the floor passes you desire!