The students broke into the school Wednesday night and poured baby oil on the floor along several hallways in the school and spray-painted graffiti on nearly 30 buses in the school parking lot.

Charged in the incident were Taliva Allen, 18, of 306 Dobro Court, Zebulon; Antonio Bland, 18, of 5804 Seward Drive, Knightdale; Marquis Joyner, 17, of 112 South Bend Drive, Knightdale; Latasha May, 18, of 1509 Huntdell Drive, Wendell; Calvin Preston, 18, 5008 Parkerwood Drive, Knightdale; Dafineace Ratliff, 17, 6008 Sandy Run, Knightdale; and Tyasia Nicole Williams, 18, of 1108 Tellis Drive, Knightdale.

East Wake Campus Manager Craig Baker said the students left a window open during the day on Wednesday and returned to school that night.

“They knew they were going to be on camera, so they were disguised,” Baker said.

Still, the video gave school officials and investigators with the Wake County Sheriff’s Office enough information to identify the students involved in the prank.

The students poured baby oil along three hallways in the School of Health Science and in a hallway in the School of Engineering wing of the high school.

They also painted 29 school buses, most with the message “Senior Class 09” School administrators held students in their first period class Thursday morning for more than two hours as custodial staff worked to clean up the mess.

Baker said workers had to use industrial strength strippers to clean the oil off the floors and walls.

The students were all suspended from school. Baker said they will all be allowed to graduate, but they will not take part in commencement services scheduled for June 13.

He said the students were from all four of the small schools on the East Wake campus.

“It was an equal opportunity effort,” Baker said.