SCAtharsis is a mix between the acronym of the School of Creative Arts (SCA) and the term 'catharsis'.
'Catharsis' was introduced by Aristotle in Poetics and Politics in 350 B.C.
For Aristotle the principle aim of tragedy is to provoke catharsis.
Augusto Boal in Theatre of the Oppressed explained how catharsis works:
‘[W]hen man fails in his actions — in his virtuous behavior as he searches for happiness through the maximum virtue, which is obedience to the laws ['something that threatens the individual’s equilibrium, and consequently that of society'] — the art of tragedy intervenes to correct that failure. How? Through purification, catharsis, through purgation of the extraneous, undesirable element which prevents the character from achieving his ends.’ (p.32)
SCAtharsis therefore (go with us on this one) is a complex system set up to assist the student researcher (a wacky character) to achieve their goals by purging the School, the University and ultimately the researcher of the elements that prevent them from doing so. If in seeing us do things you wish not to do, but you experience some joy in seeing them done, then we have succeeded!