TORONTO - The Toronto man accused in the slaying of a York University student once attended the school and served in student government before working at a foreign policy think-tank.

Brian Dickson, 29, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Qian Liu, a 23-year-old international student from China who arrived in Toronto last fall. He has been remanded in custody to April 26 following a brief court appearance Thursday morning.

Liu was found dead last Friday in her basement apartment, and the case has gained international attention after authorities said she was last seen on a webcam struggling with an unknown intruder.

While police haven't revealed any details on the relationship between Dickson and Liu, media reports said Thursday that they lived in the same building.

And Dickson is known to police, Const. Tony Vella confirmed Thursday, but would not elaborate on why.

York University said in a statement Thursday that Dickson is not a registered student there and does not have a degree from York.

But a December 2008 newsletter from the Atlantic Council of Canada, a think-tank where Dickson worked as an executive assistant until March 2009, says he is a former York student who was twice re-elected vice-president of the undergraduate political science council. He also represented McLaughlin College in the York Federation of Students.

The Atlantic Council confirmed in a statement Thursday that Dickson worked there from Sept. 29, 2008, to March 27, 2009, but would not comment any further.

On his Facebook page, he lists McLaughlin College Alumni and York University among his activities and interests.

The bio in the Atlantic Council's newsletter also says he was involved in Developments in Literacy, a Pakistani aid organization that raises funds for school children in rural Pakistan, and spent time as a running instructor.

Students at York say they're troubled by the violence on campus.

"A lot of the assaults that happen here, they're not outsiders intruding on campus," said Canova Kutuk, 20, one of several dozen students who attended a forum on campus safety Thursday.

"They take advantage of the fact that the Village (the neighbourhood where Liu lived) or campus areas are vulnerable communities," she added. "That's what makes it so wrong, what makes it so frightening."

Gayle McFadden, 20, a second-year psychology student, said the university needs to realize that many students live in the area near campus and extend its security efforts there.

"It's about taking responsibility for the fact that these crimes are happening, these attacks and these assaults and these murders are happening, and we really need to step up," she said after the forum.

In a news conference Thursday afternoon, the York Federation of Students once again called for the university to take concrete steps to protect students, including the implementation of mandatory anti-oppression training for all students, faculty and staff.

Members of the federation confirmed Dickson once served in their ranks, but said they do not know him.

Police announced Dickson's arrest Wednesday around the same time Liu's parents were arriving in Toronto from Beijing.

Dickson was clean shaven and wore a white shirt tucked into jeans during his court appearance.

He looked flustered but stood tall, hands behind his back, and occasionally peered into the crowded courtroom.

The evidence presented during the hearing can't be reported due to a court-ordered publication ban.

Investigators have said Liu was chatting with a friend in China by webcam last Friday morning when an unknown man arrived at her apartment and a struggle took place.

The online witness reported the struggle lasted for several minutes before the man turned off Liu's laptop. Police said the webcam images were live-streamed, not recorded, and they were searching for the laptop and a cellphone missing from the apartment.

Liu's father said earlier this week that the person in China who witnessed the attack on the webcam was his daughter's boyfriend.

Liu Jianhui, a researcher at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, said his daughter studied at Beijing City University before coming to Canada.

An autopsy failed to reveal how Liu died and police say it may be weeks before the results of toxicology tests are known.