Also, what "threw you off" is normal for generic light switches. Lights need a complete circuit to turn on. You use a basic light switch to turn on/off just the black hot wire, which breaks the complete circuit to the light. There is no need to also break the white wire, so that's why they're all connected, just passing the neutrals through the j-box out to the lights. The switches should have been grounded for safety, but doesn't affect the operation of them.