University of Maine President Robert Kennedy has taken an important step by increasing the penalties for athletes who violate the school’s code of conduct. Given the frequency and seriousness of infractions, however, more remains to be done to prevent abuse of university rules and to ensure the stronger penalties are working.

After two more athletes were summoned by Orono police for violating state alcohol laws last weekend, President Kennedy sent a stern letter to all of the university’s coaches on Monday. The weekend problems follow more than a dozen illegal incidents involving UMaine athletes and coaches since last spring. Since then, three coaches and 14 athletes have been caught for theft, assault, operating under the influence, underage drinking and hazing.

“This is a disturbing trend and it must stop, right now,” President Kennedy wrote in his letter. This is the right sentiment. But following through with strong preventive measures is as important as cracking down harder on the rule breakers.

In his letter, President Kennedy announced that the penalty for any future violations of the student-athlete code of conduct would be doubled.

The president also announced a mandatory alcohol-abuse education program for every student-athlete. Stopping alcohol abuse is important, but the larger issue of student-athlete responsibility needs to be better addressed.

As President Kennedy wrote in his letter, “it is a privilege to wear the Black Bear uniform, and that privilege brings with it serious responsibilities. UMaine student-athletes are role models for young people and they represent our university every minute of every day.”

Getting that message across, short of harsh punishment and alcohol counseling, is necessary. One way to do that would be to let students know the professional consequences of their actions. Bringing successful young professional athletes back to campus to talk about the importance of resisting the temptations of illegal activity and the long-term consequences for those who don’t may help.

This doesn’t minimize the importance of the university president, athletic director and coaches spreading this message, but reinforcing it with people student-athletes aspire to emulate can help.

Another option is to encourage team captains (unless they break the rules, which should end their captaincy) to frequently meet with their teammates to stress the importance of following team and schools rules. Another example of using athletes themselves to spread a message is the university’s softball team, which is meeting with other teams to talk about hazing and how to avoid it.

Finally, the university must do more than wait for the next police report or news story to know if these stronger measures are working. Asking if smaller infractions, such as skipping class or practice, are less frequent could be one gauge.

President Kennedy has taken an important step in reinforcing the university’s expectations for its athletes. Helping them understand the importance of meeting those expectations is a crucial next step.