Bus company apologizes after ad says 'you won't feel like you're in China on our buses'
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CHAMPAIGN, Illinois (Fox 32 News) - A bus company was on the defensive on Sunday after they advertised their bus trips to the University of Illinois as being superior because "you won't feel like you're in China when you're on our buses."
Suburban Express claim came in an emailed advertisement on Saturday morning listing what they considered perks of their service from Champaign to Chicago.
In a follow-up email, the company doubled down on their complaint that the Unviersity of Illinois admits too many students from China.
"A little while ago, we sent out an email that has received some negative feedback. The remark is being interpreted as a slap in the face of all non-caucasians for some reason, and that was not how it was intended," the email read. “U of I mismanagement over the past few decades has put them in a financial bind. To solve the problem, it admit large numbers of international students who pay higher tuition. Nearly 20% of U of I students are natives of China, and this high percentage of nonnative English speakers places a variety of burdens on domestic students.”
The actual percentage of Chinese students at the University of Illinois is 12 percent.
The company is not run by or endorsed by the University. They are prohibited from picking students up on campus, the Daily Illini reported.
Later, Suburban Express issued another statement to the Daily Illini.
“Suburban Express welcomes students of all nationalities on our buses. Anyone who says otherwise is trying to further their own agenda. We apologize for our insensitive statement," said owner Dennis Toeppen in the statement.