Chicago bus company Suburban Express has been slammed for its racist email that targeted Chinese students.
In an advert for December, the bus service sent an email to encourage customers to use their service. Enticing customers, the company offered a list of services including no baggage charges, refundable tickets and fast boarding.
However, one line read, “passengers like you. You won’t feel like you’re in China when you’re on our buses.”
In the Suburban Express’s apology email, the company admits that the line was a remark “based on the fact that our competitor mostly handles Chinese international students”.
The Daily Illini reports that the rival company may be Peoria Charter, which stops at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
“The remark is being interpreted as a slap in the face for all non-caucasians for some reason, and that it not how it was intended [sic],” Suburban Express said in their apology.
It went on to blame the University of Illinois for attending to international students instead of the education of Illinois locals.
“U of I mismanagement over the past few decades has put them in a financial bind,” the email said. “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 speakers places a variety of burdens of domestic students”.
Illini Democrats released a statement in response to the bus company’s emails.
“We call on the Illinois Attorney General’s office and other relevant authorities to open a legal investigation into this discriminatory advertisement, and we will be following any such investigation closely,” Illini Democrats stated.
